Dynamic transcriptome analysis reveals the gene network of gonadal development from the early history life stages in dwarf surfclam Mulinia lateralis

作者：Yajuan Li, Liangjie Liu, Lijing Zhang, Lijing Zhang, Huilan Wei, Shaoxuan Wu, Tian Liu, Ya Shu, Zujing Yang, Zujing Yang, Shi Wang, Zhenmin Bao, Lingling Zhang, Lingling Zhang · 发表于：Biology of Sex Differences · 年份：2022 · DOI：10.1186/s13293-022-00479-3 · 被引用次数：20 · 研究领域：Developmental Biology and Gene Regulation、Marine Bivalve and Aquaculture Studies、Marine Biology and Environmental Chemistry

BACKGROUND: Gonadal development is driven by a complex genetic cascade in vertebrates. However, related information remains limited in molluscs owing to the long generation time and the difficulty in maintaining whole life cycle in the lab. The dwarf surfclam Mulinia lateralis is considered an ideal bivalve model due to the short generation time and ease to breed in the lab. RESULTS: To gain a comprehensive understanding of gonadal development in M. lateralis, we conducted a combined morphological and molecular analysis on the gonads of 30 to 60 dpf. Morphological analysis showed that gonad formation and sex differentiation occur at 35 and 40-45 dpf, respectively; then the gonads go through gametogenic cycle. Gene co-expression network analysis on 40 transcriptomes of 35-60 dpf gonads identifies seven gonadal development-related modules, including two gonad-forming modules (M6, M7), three sex-specific modules (M14, M12, M11), and two sexually shared modules (M15, M13). The modules participate in different biological processes, such as cell communication, glycan biosynthesis, cell cycle, and ribosome biogenesis. Several hub transcription factors including SOX2, FOXZ, HSFY, FOXL2 and HES1 are identified. The expression of top hub genes from sex-specific modules suggests molecular sex differentiation (35 dpf) occurs earlier than morphological sex differentiation (40-45 dpf). CONCLUSION: This study provides a deep insight into the molecular basis of gonad formation, sex different...