Project description:The goal of this study was to determine whether there was a direct relationship between stress and DNA methylation changes in fish gonads. During sex differentiation, we studied the sensitive window to density. Sex ratios were studied and methylation of canonical reproduction-related genes was analysed.
Project description:The aim of the experiment was to study the gene expression changes occurring when cells of the diatom Skeletonema marinoi undergo sexual reproduction. In this species, sex can be induced by an environmental trigger, specifically a change in salinity of the cultivation media. In diatoms the unique mode of cell division with unequal inheritance of the rigid cell wall components determines a progressive cell size reduction as cells divide. Large cells above a given size threshold are not competent for sex, on the other hand small cells, under appropriate conditions, can undergo sexual reproduction. RNA-seq included three experimental conditions: a) large cells above the sexualization size threshold, grown at standard salinity (control condition: no sex, no salinity stress); b) large cells above the sexualization size threshold transferred to higher salinity (treatment 1: no sex, salinity stress); c) small cells below the sexualization size threshold transferred to higher salinity (treatment 2: sex, salinity stress).
Project description:The swamp eel or rice field eel (Monopterus albus) taxonomically belongs to the family Synbranchidae of the order Synbranchiformes (Neoteleostei, Teleostei, Vertebrata). It is not only an economically important freshwater fish in aquacultural production, but also an increasingly known model species for biological studies. Understanding molecular mechanisms underlying sex change is a major area of interest. The swamp eel thus offers a powerful system for studying sexual development and adaptive evolution in vertebrates.The whole genome sequencing provides valuable resources for sex control in fish production, species protection through manipulating sex reversal genes, and potentially enabling effective population control and promoting reproduction health in human.
Project description:Sex-specific differences in gene expression underlie differences in morphology, behavior, and reproduction. To date, little is known about sex-specific differences in gene expression in spider mites, even though males and females differ markedly in morphology and behavior. In this study, we describe the complement of sex-specific gene expression differences between males and females of the two-spotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae), an important generalist herbivore that is a significant crop pest. Gene expression differences were detected from analyses of mRNA-seq data collected with the Illumina method (eight samples in total consisting of four biological replicates each for males and females).
Project description:Animal reproduction relies on elaborate divisions of labour and multiple dimorphisms between the sexes. Primary dimorphisms affect core elements of reproduction, secondary dimorphisms affect more indirect traits, including complex behaviours. In disease-transmitting mosquitoes, males locate females acoustically prior to copulation (phonotaxis). No comparable acoustic behaviour is known for females. As a result, the males’ ears – and hearing performance - have evolved to become substantially more complex. Sex-specific hearing in mosquitoes is in part controlled by the doublesex (dsx) gene. Intriguingly, dsx forms a linker between primary and secondary dimorphisms: spermatogenesis and ear morphogenesis share considerable molecular overlap and both depend on dsx expression patterns. We have combined transcriptomics with functional-anatomical analyses to dissect dsx-dependent hearing in the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae. By cross-linking our auditory findings to the genetic bases of spermatogenesis we advance the molecular understanding of sex-specific hearing mechanisms in insects, highlighting the special roles of ciliary factors therein.
Project description:Cytosine methylation is a key epigenetic mark in many organisms, important for both transcriptional control and genome integrity. While relatively stable during somatic growth, DNA methylation is reprogrammed genome-wide during mammalian reproduction. Reprogramming is essential for zygotic totipotency, and to prevent transgenerational inheritance of epimutations. The extent of DNA methylation reprogramming in plants however remains unclear. Here, we developed sensors reporting with single-cell resolution CG and non-CG methylation in Arabidopsis. Live imaging during reproduction revealed distinct and sex-specific dynamics for both contexts. We found that CHH methylation in the egg cell depends on DRM2 and Pol V, two main actors of RNA-directed DNA methylation, but does not depend on Pol IV. Our sensors provide insight into global DNA methylation dynamics at the single cell level with high temporal resolution, and offer a powerful tool to track CG and non-CG methylation both during development and in response to environmental cues in all organisms with methylated DNA.
Project description:Sexual reproduction is nearly universal among multicellular animals, but sex can be determined by cues including sex chromosomes, temperature, social status, and photoperiod. DMRT transcription factors are key regulators of sex in animals that use diverse sex-determining strategies. These proteins are related to the sexual regulators Doublesex (Dsx) and Male abnormal-3 (MAB-3) of insects and nematodes, respectively. DMRT proteins share the DM DNA binding domain, comprised of a unique intertwined double zinc-binding module flanked by a C-terminal recognition helix that binds to a pseudopalindromic target DNA. Despite the central role of DMRT proteins in metazoan sexual development, how they recognize target DNA sequences is poorly understood. Here we find that DMRT proteins employ multiple DNA binding modes due to surprising versatility in how specific base contacts are made. Human DMRT1 can bind as a dimer, trimer or tetramer, in each case using paired antiparallel recognition helices that together insert into a widened DNA major groove to make base-specific contacts. Insertion of two helices in a single major groove is, to our knowledge, a DNA binding interaction unique to DMRT proteins. High resolution in vivo DNA binding analysis (ChIP-Exo) indicates that multiple DNA binding modes also are used in the mouse testis. Finally, we show that mutations affecting amino acid residues crucial for DNA recognition are associated with sex reversal in flies and also, for the first time, with male-to-female sex reversal in humans. Our results illuminate an ancient molecular interaction that underlies much of metazoan sexual development.
Project description:In our study, differential male nucleus events and development behaviors were revealed from the fertilized eggs in response to the sperm from males of genotypic sex determination (GSD) and temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD) in gibel carp. When the eggs of maternal fish were fertilized by the sperm from males of GSD, the fertilized egg encountered similar sexual reproduction events and behaviors. However, when the eggs of maternal fish were fertilized by the sperm from males of TSD, a typical process of gynogenesis was observed. To reveal the underlying molecular mechanism of differential sperm nucleus development behaviors in the fertilized eggs, iTRAQ-based quantitative semen proteomics were performed on three semen samples from three males of GSD and three semen samples from three males of TSD respectively.
Project description:The swamp eel or rice field eel (Monopterus albus) taxonomically belongs to the family Synbranchidae of the order Synbranchiformes (Neoteleostei, Teleostei, Vertebrata). It is not only an economically important freshwater fish in aquacultural production, but also an increasingly known model species for biological studies. Understanding molecular mechanisms underlying sex change is a major area of interest. The swamp eel thus offers a powerful system for studying sexual development and adaptive evolution in vertebrates.The whole genome sequencing provides valuable resources for sex control in fish production, species protection through manipulating sex reversal genes, and potentially enabling effective population control and promoting reproduction health in human. High throughput sequencing was employed for three samples,three kind s of sex gonad from swamp eel, testis,ovotestis and ovary, no replicates.
Project description:Adverse intrauterine environments, such as hyperglycemia, impair the sexual reproduction and species continuous, yet the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. In this study, we demonstrated that intrauterine hyperglycemia significantly disrupted primordial germ cell (PGC) development, especially in female offspring and thus reduced fertility. Using Oct4-EGFP transgenic mice with intrauterine hyperglycemia exposure, we revealed that hyperglycemia compromised sexually specific chromatin accessibility and DNA methylation reprogramming during PGC development. Particularly, in female PGCs, hyperglycemia leads to the aberrant retention of chromatin accessibility at pluripotency gene promoters such as Nanog and Tfap2c, inhibiting proper gene silencing and blocking the initiation of meiosis, which ultimately hinders oocyte maturation. Conversely, male PGCs exhibit less severe changes in chromatin accessibility and gene transcription. Intriguingly, the global DNA methylation reconstruction is impaired in male PGCs, particularly in key imprinted gene regions, suggesting potential developmental ramifications for later stages and even subsequent generations. Particularly, our findings indicate that intrauterine hyperglycemia adversely affects sex differentiation in PGCs by disrupting the expression of critical sex-determining transcription factors. Collectively, these findings highlight how intrauterine hyperglycemia interferes with sex-specific epigenetic reprogramming during PGC development, leading to abnormal germ cell development, reduced fertility, and adverse intergenerational effects.