Comparative transcriptomics in East African cichlids reveals sex- and species-specific expression and new candidates for sex differentiation in fishes.

ABSTRACT: Males and females of the same species differ largely in gene expression, which accounts for most of the morphological and physiological differences and sex-specific phenotypes. Here, we analyzed sex-specific gene expression in the brain and the gonads of cichlid fishes from Lake Tanganyika belonging to four different lineages, so-called tribes (Eretmodini, Ectodini, Haplochromini, and Lamprologini), using the outgroup Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) as reference. The comparison between male and female brains revealed few differences between the sexes, consistent in all investigated species. The gonads, on the other hand, showed a large fraction of differentially expressed transcripts with the majority of them showing the same direction of expression in all four species. All here-studi

SUBMITTER: Bohne A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4202336 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature