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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Marine Molecular Biology and Ecology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2025.1517938

Manuscript for Frontiers in Marine Science Comprehensive transcriptome profiling of silvertip tetra (Hasemania nana), a new freshwater fish model for gender classification based on color and establishment of a caudal fin-derived cell line

Provisionally accepted
Hwa Jin Lee Hwa Jin Lee 1Mi-Gi Lee Mi-Gi Lee 2Jeong-Hyeon Cho Jeong-Hyeon Cho 3MIN SUN KIM MIN SUN KIM 4Sang Yoon Lee Sang Yoon Lee 1*
  • 1 cellqua., Inc, Seongnam-si, Republic of Korea
  • 2 Gyeonggido Business and Science Accelerator, Suwon, Republic of Korea
  • 3 Jeju Fisheries Research Institute, National Institute of Fisheries Science (NIFS), Jeju-do, Republic of Korea
  • 4 Department of Biological Sciences, Kongju National University, Gongju, Republic of Korea

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This study aimed to propose the silvertip tetra (Hasemania nana) as a new experimental fish model. The silvertip tetra is a freshwater species that exhibits clear sexual dimorphism, with distinct differences in body coloration between males and females. In this study, we analyzed the embryonic development of silvertip tetra and investigated transcriptome-level differences in gene expression between male and female brain-pituitary, caudal fin, and gonadal tissues. Additionally, we established a primary cell line derived from the caudal fin of male silvertip tetra and optimized the culture conditions for this cell line. The optimal cell growth temperature was identified as 32°C, with a doubling time of approximately 28 hours. Successful transfection of foreign genes was confirmed by fluorescent protein expression, which was observed within 48 hours of transfection. RNA-seq analysis identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between sexes and tissues, particularly those involved in pigmentation, and protein interaction networks were examined to explore sex-related differences. The RNA-seq results validated by qRT-PCR suggest that the transcriptome-level gene expression patterns observed in silvertip tetra play critical roles in physiological functions and sexual dimorphism. Our findings highlight the potential of silvertip tetra as a valuable experimental model for studying pigmentation and sexual dimorphism.

    Keywords: Silvertip tetra (Hasemania nana), sexual dimorphism, experimental model, Cell Line, Gene Expression, transcriptome analysis

    Received: 27 Oct 2024; Accepted: 24 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Lee, Lee, Cho, KIM and Lee. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Sang Yoon Lee, cellqua., Inc, Seongnam-si, Republic of Korea

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.