Project description:To help understand the elusive mechanisms of zebrafish sex determination, we studied the genetic machinery regulating production and breakdown of retinoic acid (RA) during the onset of meiosis in gonadogenesis. Results uncovered unexpected mechanistic differences between zebrafish and mammals. Conserved synteny and expression analyses revealed that cyp26a1 in zebrafish and its paralog Cyp26b1 in tetrapods independently became the primary genes encoding enzymes available for gonadal RA-degradation, showing lineage-specific subfunctionalization of vertebrate genome duplication (VGD) paralogs. Experiments showed that zebrafish express aldh1a2, which encodes an RA-synthesizing enzyme, in the gonad rather than in the mesonephros as in mouse. Germ cells in bipotential gonads of all zebrafish analyzed were labeled by the early meiotic marker sycp3, suggesting that in zebrafish, the onset of meiosis is not sexually dimorphic as it is in mouse and is independent of Stra8, which is required in mouse but was lost in teleosts. Analysis of dead-end knockdown zebrafish depleted of germ cells revealed the germ cell-independent onset and maintenance of gonadal aldh1a2 and cyp26a1 expression. After meiosis initiated, somatic cell expression of cyp26a1 became sexually dimorphic: up-regulated in testes but not ovaries. Meiotic germ cells expressing the synaptonemal complex gene sycp3 occupied islands of somatic cells that lacked cyp26a1 expression, as predicted by the hypothesis that Cyp26a1 acts as a meiosis-inhibiting factor. Consistent with this hypothesis, females up-regulated cyp26a1 in oocytes that entered prophase-I meiotic arrest, and down-regulated cyp26a1 in oocytes resuming meiosis. Co-expression of cyp26a1 and the pluripotent germ cell stem cell marker pou5f1(oct4) in meiotically arrested oocytes was consistent with roles in mouse to promote germ cell survival and to prevent apoptosis, mechanisms that are central for tipping the sexual fate of gonads towards the female pathway in zebrafish.

Project description:Animals and samplings: Research involving animal experimentation has been approved by the author's institution (authorization number 35-14) and conforms to NIH guidelines. All-male and all-female rainbow trout populations were obtained from the INRA experimental fish farm (Drennec, France) using breeders from the Mirwart strain. At 55 days post-fertilization (55 dpf, i.e., the onset of the free swimming), a male and female batch of 1500 fry each were transferred in 0.3 m3 tanks with recirculating water conditions. They were held at 12°C under constant photoperiod (12h light : 12h dark) and fed ad libitum with a commercial diet (dry pellet food, BiomarTM, Brande, Denmark). In each group, from 20 to 100 gonads, depending on the age of the fish, were sampled and pooled in duplicates at various stages of development : the onset of the free swimming period after complete yolk resumption (Day 0 = D0), D7, D12 (around the first occurrence of oocyte meiosis), D27 (first ovarian lamellar structures), D60 (first previtellogenic oocytes), D90 and D110. There were immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at -80°C until RNA extraction. Additional gonads were sampled at the same dates for histological analysis performed as previously described. Total RNA extraction and Reverse Transcription: Total RNA was extracted using TRIzol reagent (Invitrogen, Cergy Pontoise, France). Total RNA concentration was determined with an Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer and the RNA 6000 LabChip kit (Agilent Technologies, Stockport, UK) according to the manufacturer's instructions. For cDNA synthesis, 1µg of RNA was denaturated in the presence of random hexamers (0.5µg) for 5 min at 70°C, and then chilled on ice. Reverse transcription (RT) was performed at 37°C for 1 h using M-MLV reverse transcriptase (Promega, Madison, WI) as described by the manufacturer. Primers design: Trout candidate gene homologues were searched in international public databanks using a reciprocal blast hit strategy. Candidate genes were chosen according to a bibliographic analysis showing their direct or indirect involvement in the sex differentiation cascade in vertebrates. All the primers were purchased from Eurogentec (Eurogentec, Seraing, Belgium). These primers were manually designed respecting whenever possible the following restriction parameters : 21-23 bp length, no more than 4 identical successive nucleotides, 30-70% GC content, a maximum of 2 G or C among the five 3'-end bases, no primer dimers and a short amplicon size (70-150 bp). Secondary structures were searched with DNA mfold (http://bioinfo.math.rpi.edu/~mfold/DNA/form1.cgi). Whenever possible, each pair was chosen with at least one primer flanking an intron-exon boundary, in order to prevent genomic amplification. Real-time RT-PCR Real-time RT-PCR was carried out on an iCycler iQTM (BioRad, Hercules, CA). Reactions were performed in 20µl with 300nM of each primer, 5µl of a 1/50 dilution of the RT reaction and the SYBER-Green PCR master Mix (Eurogentec) according to the manufacturer's instructions. After two incubation steps (50°C 10 min, 95°C 2 min), the thermal cycling protocol was 95°C for 10 min followed by 40 cycles of PCR (95°C 30 s, 60°C or 65°C 1 min). For each primer set the efficiency of the PCR reaction (linear equation : y = slope + intercept) was measured in triplicate on serial dilutions of the same cDNA sample (pool of reverse transcribed RNA samples). Real-time PCR efficiencies for each reaction were then calculated using the formula : Efficiency (E)=[10(1/slope)]-1. Melting curve analysis was also performed for each gene to check the specificity and identity of the RT-PCR products. The relative amount of the target RNA called the Starting Quantity (SQ) was then determined using the I-Cycler IQ software by comparison with the corresponding standard curve for each sample run in duplicate. SQ were calculated as follow : SQ = [10((Ct -intercept)/slope))]-1 where Ct is the Cycle threshold of the unknown sample. Each transcript level was then normalized by division with the expression values of the constitutive elongation factor 1 alpha (EF1a) used as an internal standard.

Project description:BackgroundGonad development and differentiation is an essential function for all sexually reproducing species, and many aspects of these developmental processes are highly conserved among the metazoa. However, the mechanisms underlying gonad development and gametogenesis remain unclear in Tridacna squamosa, a large-size bivalve of great ecological value. They are protandrous simultaneous hermaphrodites, with the male gonad maturing first, eventually followed by the female gonads. In this study, nine gonad libraries representing resting, male and hermaphrodite stages in T. squamosa were performed to identify the molecular mechanisms.ResultsSixteen thousand four hundred ninety-one unigenes were annotated in the NCBI non-redundant protein database. Among the annotated unigenes, 5091 and 7328 unigenes were assigned to Gene Ontology categories and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) Pathway database, respectively. A total of 4763 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified by comparing male to resting gonads, consisting of 3499 which were comparatively upregulated in males and 1264 which were downregulated in males. Six hundred-ninteen DEGs between male and hermaphroditic gonads were identified, with 518 DEGs more strongly expressed in hermaphrodites and 101 more strongly expressed in males. GO (Gene Ontology) and KEGG pathway analyses revealed that various biological functions and processes, including functions related to the endocrine system, oocyte meiosis, carbon metabolism, and the cell cycle, were involved in regulating gonadal development and gametogenesis in T. squamosa. Testis-specific serine/threonine kinases 1 (TSSK1), TSSK4, TSSK5, Doublesex- and mab-3-related transcription factor 1 (DMRT1), SOX, Sperm surface protein 17 (SP17) and other genes were involved in male gonadal development in Tridacna squamosal. Both spermatogenesis- (TSSK4, spermatogenesis-associated protein 17, spermatogenesis-associated protein 8, sperm motility kinase X, SP17) and oogenesis-related genes (zona pellucida protein, Forkhead Box L2, Vitellogenin, Vitellogenin receptor, 5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor) were simultaneously highly expressed in the hermaphroditic gonad to maintain the hermaphroditism of T. squamosa.ConclusionAll these results from our study will facilitate better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying giant clam gonad development and gametogenesis, which can provided a base on obtaining excellent gametes during the seed production process for giant clams.

Project description:Animals and samplings: Research involving animal experimentation has been approved by the author's institution (authorization number 35-14) and conforms to NIH guidelines. All-male and all-female rainbow trout populations were obtained from the INRA experimental fish farm (Drennec, France) using breeders from the Mirwart strain. At 55 days post-fertilization (55 dpf, i.e., the onset of the free swimming), a male and female batch of 1500 fry each were transferred in 0.3 m3 tanks with recirculating water conditions. They were held at 12°C under constant photoperiod (12h light : 12h dark) and fed ad libitum with a commercial diet (dry pellet food, BiomarTM, Brande, Denmark). In each group, from 20 to 100 gonads, depending on the age of the fish, were sampled and pooled in duplicates at various stages of development : the onset of the free swimming period after complete yolk resumption (Day 0 = D0), D7, D12 (around the first occurrence of oocyte meiosis), D27 (first ovarian lamellar structures), D60 (first previtellogenic oocytes), D90 and D110. There were immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at -80°C until RNA extraction. Additional gonads were sampled at the same dates for histological analysis performed as previously described. Total RNA extraction and Reverse Transcription: Total RNA was extracted using TRIzol reagent (Invitrogen, Cergy Pontoise, France). Total RNA concentration was determined with an Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer and the RNA 6000 LabChip kit (Agilent Technologies, Stockport, UK) according to the manufacturer's instructions. For cDNA synthesis, 1µg of RNA was denaturated in the presence of random hexamers (0.5µg) for 5 min at 70°C, and then chilled on ice. Reverse transcription (RT) was performed at 37°C for 1 h using M-MLV reverse transcriptase (Promega, Madison, WI) as described by the manufacturer. Primers design: Trout candidate gene homologues were searched in international public databanks using a reciprocal blast hit strategy. Candidate genes were chosen according to a bibliographic analysis showing their direct or indirect involvement in the sex differentiation cascade in vertebrates. All the primers were purchased from Eurogentec (Eurogentec, Seraing, Belgium). These primers were manually designed respecting whenever possible the following restriction parameters : 21-23 bp length, no more than 4 identical successive nucleotides, 30-70% GC content, a maximum of 2 G or C among the five 3'-end bases, no primer dimers and a short amplicon size (70-150 bp). Secondary structures were searched with DNA mfold (http://bioinfo.math.rpi.edu/~mfold/DNA/form1.cgi). Whenever possible, each pair was chosen with at least one primer flanking an intron-exon boundary, in order to prevent genomic amplification. Real-time RT-PCR Real-time RT-PCR was carried out on an iCycler iQTM (BioRad, Hercules, CA). Reactions were performed in 20µl with 300nM of each primer, 5µl of a 1/50 dilution of the RT reaction and the SYBER-Green PCR master Mix (Eurogentec) according to the manufacturer's instructions. After two incubation steps (50°C 10 min, 95°C 2 min), the thermal cycling protocol was 95°C for 10 min followed by 40 cycles of PCR (95°C 30 s, 60°C or 65°C 1 min). For each primer set the efficiency of the PCR reaction (linear equation : y = slope + intercept) was measured in triplicate on serial dilutions of the same cDNA sample (pool of reverse transcribed RNA samples). Real-time PCR efficiencies for each reaction were then calculated using the formula : Efficiency (E)=[10(1/slope)]-1. Melting curve analysis was also performed for each gene to check the specificity and identity of the RT-PCR products. The relative amount of the target RNA called the Starting Quantity (SQ) was then determined using the I-Cycler IQ software by comparison with the corresponding standard curve for each sample run in duplicate. SQ were calculated as follow : SQ = [10((Ct -intercept)/slope))]-1 where Ct is the Cycle threshold of the unknown sample. Each transcript level was then normalized by division with the expression values of the constitutive elongation factor 1 alpha (EF1a) used as an internal standard. Keywords: ordered

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Comprehensive Transcriptomic Analysis of Mouse Gonadal Development Involving Sexual Differentiation, Meiosis and Gametogenesis.

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Comprehensive Transcriptomic Analysis of Mouse Gonadal Development Involving Sexual Differentiation, Meiosis and Gametogenesis.

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