Egg Yolk Protein Homologs Identified in Live-Bearing Sharks: Co-Opted in the Lecithotrophy-to-Matrotrophy Shift?

ABSTRACT: Reproductive modes of vertebrates are classified into two major embryonic nutritional types: yolk deposits (i.e., lecithotrophy) and maternal investment (i.e., matrotrophy). Vitellogenin (VTG), a major egg yolk protein synthesized in the female liver, is one of the molecules relevant to the lecithotrophy-to-matrotrophy shift in bony vertebrates. In mammals, all VTG genes are lost following the lecithotrophy-to-matrotrophy shift, and it remains to be elucidated whether the lecithotrophy-to-matrotrophy shift in nonmammalians is also associated with VTG repertoire modification. In this study, we focused on chondrichthyans (cartilaginous fishes)-a vertebrate clade that underwent multiple lecithotrophy-to-matrotrophy shifts. For an exhaustive search of homologs, we performed tissue-by-tissue tr

SUBMITTER: Ohishi Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10015161 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature