AUTHOR=Jin Shubo , Zhang Wenyi , Xiong Yiwei , Jiang Sufei , Qiao Hui , Gong Yongsheng , Wu Yan , Fu Hongtuo 

TITLE=Identification of Important Genes Involved in the Sex-Differentiation Mechanism of Oriental River Prawn, Macrobrachium nipponense, During the Gonad Differentiation and Development Period

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Genetics

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/genetics/articles/10.3389/fgene.2022.797796

DOI=10.3389/fgene.2022.797796

ISSN=1664-8021

ABSTRACT=<p>Identification of important genes, involved in the gonad differentiation and development, plays essential roles in the establishment of the artificial technique to regulate the process of testis development in <italic>M. nipponense</italic>. In this study, we aimed to determine the sensitive period of gonad differentiation and development through hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining. The important genes involved in the gonad differentiation and development of <italic>M. nipponense</italic> were then identified through transcriptome profiling analysis during the sensitive period of gonad differentiation and development. HE staining analysis revealed that the sensitive period of gonad differentiation and development was from the post–larval developmental stages 5 (PL5) to PL25, which was dramatically faster than was for the other identified aquatic animals. The transcriptome profiling analysis predicted that phagosome, lysosome, oxidative phosphorylation, and glycolysis/gluconeogenesis play essential roles in the mechanism of gonad differentiation and development in <italic>M. nipponense</italic>. A total of 29 genes were further identified as the candidate genes, involved in the process of gonad differentiation and development in <italic>M. nipponense</italic>, based on the gene annotation and gene expression pattern. The qPCR analysis of <italic>Mn-JHEH</italic>, <italic>Mn-DHP</italic>, <italic>Mn-ALY</italic>, and <italic>Mn-SMA6</italic> during the whole developmental process revealed that all of these four genes showed high expression levels during the sensitive period of gonad differentiation and development in <italic>M. nipponense</italic>. <italic>Mn-JHEH</italic>, <italic>Mn-DHP</italic>, and <italic>Mn-ALY</italic> showed higher expressions at PL25F than at PL25M, while <italic>Mn-SMA6</italic> showed a higher expression at PL25M. The RNA interference (RNAi) analysis was further used to investigate the potential functions of <italic>SMA6</italic> in male sexual development of <italic>M. nipponense</italic>. The RNAi analysis revealed that <italic>SMA6</italic> positively regulated the testis development in <italic>M. nipponense</italic> by affecting the expression of <italic>Mn-IAG</italic>. This study provided valuable evidences for the establishment of the technique to regulate the process of gonad development in <italic>M. nipponense</italic>.</p>