渔业科学进展  2024, Vol. 45 Issue (4): 34-42  DOI: 10.19663/j.issn2095-9869.20230307001
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引用本文 

孙宇轩, 张梦倩, 李璐, 魏敏, 徐文腾. 半滑舌鳎rimoc1基因在雌雄鱼中的差异表达[J]. 渔业科学进展, 2024, 45(4): 34-42. DOI: 10.19663/j.issn2095-9869.20230307001.
SUN Yuxuan, ZHANG Mengqian, LI Lu, WEI Min, XU Wenteng. Differential Expression of the rimoc1 Gene in Male and Female Chinese Tongue Sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis)[J]. Progress in Fishery Sciences, 2024, 45(4): 34-42. DOI: 10.19663/j.issn2095-9869.20230307001.

基金项目

国家重点研发计划(2022YFD2400405)、中国水产科学研究院黄海水产研究所基本科研业务费(20603022023019)、国家自然科学基金(32072955)和山东省重点研发计划项目-住鲁院士团队支持项目(2023ZLYS02)共同资助

作者简介

孙宇轩,E-mail: 877387305@qq.com

通讯作者

徐文腾,副研究员,E-mail: xuwt@ysfri.ac.cn

文章历史

收稿日期:2023-03-07
收修改稿日期:2023-04-08
半滑舌鳎rimoc1基因在雌雄鱼中的差异表达
孙宇轩 1,2, 张梦倩 2, 李璐 2, 魏敏 2, 徐文腾 2     
1. 江苏海洋大学 江苏省海洋生物资源与生态环境重点实验室/江苏省海洋生物技术重点实验室江苏 连云港 222005;
2. 中国水产科学研究院黄海水产研究所 青岛海洋科技中心海洋渔业科学与食物产出过程功能实验室 山东 青岛 266071
摘要:动物中普遍存在性别生长二态性,这种现象在海水鱼中更为明显。半滑舌鳎(Cynoglossus semilaevis)性成熟雌鱼体重显著高于雄鱼,雌性个体的生长速度比雄性快2~4倍。本研究旨在探究rimoc1基因在半滑舌鳎雌、雄鱼中的表达差异及与性别和生长的关系。实时定量和原位杂交结果显示,rimoc1在雄性组织中未检测到表达,而在雌性组织中表达量最高的是卵巢和肌肉,在卵巢中表达相对稳定,在孵化后1.5年(1.5 yph)和3 yph的水平有所增加。在细胞系中通过siRNA干扰敲除rimoc1后,发现生长相关基因igf1、性别分化相关基因sox9bfoxl2的表达水平显著降低,而sox9a的表达升高。启动子活性分析显示,rimoc1启动子可能受到C/EBPdelta、Sox2和c-Jun等转录因子的调控。推测rimoc1可能在半滑舌鳎的性别分化和生长中发挥重要作用,为深入研究半滑舌鳎的性别生长二态性提供了基础。
关键词半滑舌鳎    rimoc1    性别生长二态性    表达模式    启动子活性    RNA干扰    
Differential Expression of the rimoc1 Gene in Male and Female Chinese Tongue Sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis)
SUN Yuxuan 1,2, ZHANG Mengqian 2, LI Lu 2, WEI Min 2, XU Wenteng 2     
1. Jiangsu Ocean University, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Marine Biological Resources and Ecological Environment / Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology, Lianyungang 222005, China;
2. Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs; Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Qingdao Marine Science and Technology Center, Qingdao 266071, China
Abstract: Chinese tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis) is a traditional, nutrient rich and economically valuable fish that is important for mariculture in China. It has small visceral masses, few spines, with tender and tasty flesh. Studies on the sexing mechanism of fish were carried out since the revelation of sexual reversal and hermaphroditism in the eel. Sex is the most common biological phenomenon and there are significant differences in morphology, reproductive strategies, and behavior between females and males of many organisms. Sole is a typical representative of the heterogeneous growth of males and females: adult females are approximately 2–4 times larger than males. This has constrained the sustainable development of the sole culture industry. Why do females grow faster than males? Do sex differentiation-related genes play a role in sex determination and size heteromorphism in sole? Answering these questions has important implications and applications in the genetic improvement and development of sole farming.Rimoc1 encodes a protein in the inner mitochondrial membrane that is involved in regulating the activity of complex Ⅰ of the mitochondrial respiratory chain that affects mitochondrial respiratory function. Rimoc1 interacts with the NDUFAF1 subunit of complex Ⅰ in the inner mitochondrial membrane and enhances its affinity for NADH. This increases the catalytic activity of complex Ⅰ and increases the rate of electron transfer in the mitochondrial respiratory chain. In addition, RIMOC1 interacts with proteins in other mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes (such as complex Ⅲ and complex Ⅳ) and may play a role in regulating the overall stability and function of the mitochondrial respiratory chain.This study aimed to investigate the expression differences of the rimoc1 gene in male and female Chinese tongue sole and determine its potential relationship with sex and growth. Rimoc1 expression was highest in the ovaries and muscles of females; it was not expressed in male tissues. Interestingly, its expression was relatively stable in the ovaries, but increased at 1.5- and 3-years post-hatching. Knocking out rimoc1 through siRNA interference in cell lines significantly reduced the expression levels of growth-related gene igf1, and sex differentiation-related genes sox9b and foxl2, while sox9a expression increased. Promoter activity analysis further demonstrated that the rimoc1 promoter strongly responded to transcription factors C/EBPdelta, Sox2, and c-Jun. This suggested their potential role in regulating rimoc1. Sex determination in semislipped sole occurs at approximately 50 days, while gonadal differentiation begins at 60 days. However, differentiation at the cellular level is relatively delayed, with ovarian cell differentiation usually occurring at 90–120 days with the emergence of an ovarian cavity followed by continued oocyte differentiation and sexual maturity at approximately 2 years of age. Thus, high rimoc1 expression at 90 days is consistent with the differentiation of naturally growing ovarian cells in semi-smooth tongue sole.Analysis of promoter activity showed that rimoc1 was transcriptionally active at 981 bp upstream and had strong initiation activity. The activity was enhanced following cotransfection with three transcription factors (C/EBPalpha, Sox2, and C-Jun), although only the C/EBPalpha group was significantly different. This suggested that these three transcription factors exert an enhancing effect on rimoc1 transcription. It is known that C/EBPalpha plays a major role in keratinocyte and adipocyte differentiation. However, its regulation of rimoc1 in hemipterous sole requires further investigation.There are few reports on the function of rimoc1 in sexual differentiation. Therefore, we performed the first functional investigation of rimoc1 by siRNA-mediated RNA interference in an ovarian cell line. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction showed that the expression levels of igf1, sox9a, sox9b, and foxl2 changed at different degrees after rimoc1 gene interference compared to the control group; sox9a expression was up-regulated, while the expression of igf1, sox9b, and foxl2 was down-regulated. Fish igf1 is closely related to reproductive function and gonadal development. Tilapia igf1 expression was detected from the early stages of oogenesis till oocyte maturation. At the same time, Igf1 is involved in regulating growth hormones and growth. Sexual growth dimorphism begins to appear in one-year old half-sauropod sole. The quantification of different developmental stages shows that rimoc1 expression starts to increase at 180 days until its peak expression at 1.5 years of age. It is worthwhile investigating whether rimoc1 has a potential regulatory function in growth.Sox9 is a key transcription factor that plays an important role in regulating the proliferation and differentiation of various cell types. It has a critical role in embryonic development, with expression occurring throughout this period. Its level is maintained in adult tissues and plays an important role in the repair of postnatal damage in endodermal and ectodermal organs. It has a role in sex differentiation, with sox9a and cyp19a together forming a regulatory pathway for sexual differentiation. We hypothesize that rimoc1 is involved in ovarian development and oogenesis by regulating the steroid hormone pathway. Sox9b is highly expressed in the gonads of early semi-smooth sole, and rimoc1 knockdown results in its reduced expression. This suggests that Rimoc1 and Sox9b act together to regulate Foxl2 and play a role in sex determination and differentiation, ovarian development and maintenance, embryonic development, and immune regulation in the animal. The foxl2 gene positively regulates ovarian differentiation in mice, and its sustained expression inhibits abnormal differentiation of ovarian cells to testicular cells during growth and development, thereby maintaining the female sex. Meanwhile foxl2 deletion can lead to poor ovarian development, and even female sterility. Rimoc1 knockdown results in its reduced expression, suggesting that rimoc1 may be closely associated with ovarian development in hemipelagic sole. Therefore, a deeper understanding of the function and regulatory mechanisms of rimoc1 may be the key to resolving sexual growth dimorphism.Our results suggest that rimoc1 plays a crucial role in sex differentiation and growth of Chinese tongue sole. These findings provide a foundation for further investigations into the sexual growth dimorphism of this species.
Key words: Cynoglossus semilaevis    rimoc1    Sexual growth dimorphism    Expression pattern    Promoter activity    RNA interference    

rimoc1基因编码的蛋白质Rimoc1是线粒体内膜上的一种蛋白质,参与调节线粒体呼吸链的复合物Ⅰ的活性,进而影响线粒体呼吸功能。线粒体呼吸链是细胞内能量代谢的主要过程之一,它负责将食物中的化学能转化为细胞可以使用的能量(ATP)。如果线粒体呼吸链功能受损,可能导致一系列疾病,包括神经肌肉疾病、代谢疾病和多种癌症等(Youle et al, 2011)。Rimoc1在线粒体内膜上与复合物Ⅰ的NDUFAF1亚基相互作用,增强其对NADH的亲和力,从而增加复合物Ⅰ的催化活性,促进线粒体呼吸链中电子传递的速率(Vaites et al, 2017)。此外,Rimoc1还与复合物Ⅲ和复合物Ⅳ等其他线粒体呼吸链复合物中的蛋白质相互作用,可能在调节线粒体呼吸链整体的稳定性和功能上也具有一定的作用(Yan et al, 2021)。然而,rimoc1在鱼类中的功能尚不明确,在前期的转录组研究中发现,rimoc1基因在半滑舌鳎(Cynoglossus semilaevis)雌、雄鱼发育的早期阶段存在差异表达(Xu et al, 2021)。

半滑舌鳎是我国特有的海水经济鱼类,因其低脂肪、高蛋白质且富含维生素,深受消费者喜爱。半滑舌鳎的生长具有明显的性别二态性,1龄雌鱼的体重及生长速度是雄鱼的2~4倍(Chen et al, 2014),雌鱼为什么比雄鱼生长快?rimoc1基因在雌雄鱼性别分化和生长差异中是否发挥作用?这些问题对于半滑舌鳎遗传改良和养殖业发展具有重要意义和应用价值。然而,有关半滑舌鳎雌、雄鱼rimoc1基因的表达模式及其差异的研究未见报道。

本研究对半滑舌鳎rimoc1基因进行系统发育树、不同组织中的表达模式分析,组织定位、RNA干扰以及启动子活性分析,以期为探讨rimoc1基因在半滑舌鳎性别生长二态性的功能和调控机制奠定基础。

1 材料与方法 1.1 鱼类和组织采集

半滑舌鳎来自山东海阳高新技术实验基地。采集成鱼(3龄雄鱼和雌鱼)的组织样本,包括脾脏、肾脏、心脏、肝脏、肠道、肌肉、大脑和性腺,并立即用液氮冷冻,–80 ℃冰箱保存。采集不同发育阶段的半滑舌鳎性腺,包括孵化后40、60和90 d (dph),孵化后6个月(mph),孵化后1.5年(yph)和3 yph。采集后分为两部分,一部分置于液氮中,然后–80 ℃保存以提取RNA,另一部分在4%多聚甲醛固定剂中保存, 用于原位杂交(ISH)。剪取尾鳍并储存在乙醇中,用于DNA提取和遗传性别鉴定。

1.2 序列分析和对比

通过ExPASy网站(http://web.expasy.org)对编码序列、分子量和等电点进行预测,通过SMART (http://smart.embl-heidelberg.de/)预测蛋白结构域,使用MEGA 6.0软件构建系统发育树。

1.3 引物设计及合成

根据半滑舌鳎基因组数据(GCA_000525025.1)和rimoc1的mRNA序列设计实时定量引物,以β-actin为内参基因,引物序列见表 1,引物由北京睿博兴科生物技术有限公司合成。

表 1 引物序列 Tab.1 The sequence of primers
1.4 基因组DNA提取及遗传性别鉴定

使用TIANamp marine animals DNA试剂盒(TIANGEN)进行基因组DNA的提取,利用超微量核酸检测仪和琼脂糖凝胶电泳检测DNA的浓度和质量。采用共显性性别特异标记引物scaffold68-2-F/R进行PCR后电泳检测,用于半滑舌鳎遗传性别鉴定。从尾鳍中提取基因组DNA并作为PCR模板,用琼脂糖凝胶电泳检查所得的PCR产物。雄性样品只观察到1条带,而雌性样品观察到2条带(刘洋等, 2014)。

1.5 总RNA提取及cDNA合成

使用TRIzol试剂(Invitrogen, 美国)分离总RNA,取800 μg用于反转录,使用PrimeScriptTMRT试剂盒(TaKaRa)进行反转录,使用0.8%琼脂糖凝胶电泳和超微量核酸检测仪测定RNA及cDNA的质量和浓度。

1.6 实时荧光定量PCR(qPCR)

qPCR用于确定rimoc1在卵巢不同组织和不同发育阶段的表达水平。qPCR使用7500 Fast Real-time PCR仪(AppliedBiosystems, 美国),使用TB Green® Premix Ex Taq™ (TaKaRa)试剂盒进行检测。反应体系体积为20 μL,其中,含有10.0 μL TB GreenPremix Ex Tap、0.4 μL ROX DyeⅡ、0.4 μL正向及反向引物、1.0 μL cDNA和7.8 μL ddH2O。本研究使用的引物见表 1。扩增过程包括95 ℃ 30 s、95 ℃ 5 s和60 ℃ 34 s的40个循环,熔解曲线为默认程序。β-肌动蛋白被用作内参(Li et al, 2010)。基因相对表达量通过2–ΔΔCt方法进行分析(Livak et al, 2001)。使用SPSS软件进行单因素方差分析(one-way ANOVA)并进行t检验,当P<0.05时,定义为显著性差异。

1.7 原位杂交

按照Chen等(2014)的方法进行原位杂交(ISH),设计引物以扩增239 bp的rimoc1片段(表 1),连接pBluescript Ⅱ SK(+)构建重组质粒,由此产生的重组质粒用EcoRⅤ和PstⅠ线性化,随后用T3或T7 RNA聚合酶转录,生成地高辛(DIG)标记的正义或反义RNA探针。将1 yph鱼的性腺样本切片进行脱蜡和复水等处理,然后在55 ℃下与探针(终浓度为0.2 μg/mL)孵化过夜。在加入抗DIG抗体孵育过夜之前,在室温下将样品切片封闭4 h (10%山羊血清,150 mmol/L NaCl, 100 mmol/L马来酸,调整pH为7.5)。最后用硝基蓝四氮唑/5-溴-4-氯-3-吲哚基磷酸酯(罗氏公司,德国)显影,用尼康Eclipse 80i显微镜(日本)拍摄照片。

1.8 卵巢细胞系中siRNA介导的rimoc1干扰

由睿博公司设计并合成了特异性小干扰RNA rimoc1-siRNA,而GFP-siRNA作为阴性对照。用于RNA干扰的卵巢细胞系来自实验室已有细胞系(Zhang et al, 2011; Sun et al, 2015)。用Lipofectamine 8000试剂将siRNA转染到卵巢细胞系中。比较了干扰后不同时间段(24、48和72 h)的效果,48 h的样本显示出最明显的沉默效果(数据未显示)。rimoc1-siRNA和阴性对照组分别进行了3次重复。转染48 h后,提取总RNA并进行反转录。通过qPCR检测sox9a (XM_008315177.3)、sox9b (XM_017040189.2)、foxl2 (NM_001294199.1)、cyp19a (NM_001294183.1)、igf1 (NM_001294198.1)的表达情况(引物序列见表 1)。

1.9 半滑舌鳎rimoc1启动子活性分析 1.9.1 启动子重组载体的构建

根据rimoc1基因组序列,选取基因编码区上游981 bp作为启动子序列,并在两端加上XhoⅠ和HindⅢ两个酶切位点,设计引物rimoc1p F/R (表 1),引物由睿博兴科生物技术有限公司合成。以雌性性腺cDNA为模板进行扩增,随后用1%琼脂糖凝胶电泳验证序列,验证成功后用诺唯赞回收试剂盒进行回收,将得到的片段连接到pGL3-Basic载体上,通过转化后进行阳性克隆检测,随后将样品测序验证,最后提取重组质粒。

1.9.2 转录因子预测

通过ALGGEN-PROMO网站预测rimoc1启动子区域存在C/EBPalpha、Sox2、C-Jun的转录因子结合位点,克隆C/EBPalpha、Sox2、C-Jun转录因子的编码区并连接到pcDNA3.1载体上,构建pcDNA3.1-C/EBPalpha、pcDNA3.1-Sox2和pcDNA3.1-C-Jun重组载体。

1.9.3 转录因子克隆及重组载体构建

在转录因子序列上设计带有酶切位点HindⅢ的引物克隆转录因子并且回收,将pcDNA3.1用HindⅢ单酶切回收,然后进行无缝克隆连接转化,测序成功后提取质粒。

1.9.4 人类胚胎肾细胞(HEK293T)培养及细胞转染

本研究使用来自雌性的人类胚胎肾HEK293T细胞。HEK293T细胞在10%胎牛血清(FBS)(Gibco, 美国)的DME/F-12培养基中培养,不添加生长因子和抗生素。37 ℃恒温培养,并且保持培养箱中5%的CO2浓度。待细胞铺满后,以1传5的方式进行传代。待293T细胞在细胞培养瓶中长到60%~80%密度后铺板,一瓶细胞铺一板(24孔)。最后和pGL3-basic、pGL3-control同时进行转染,每组进行3个孔的平行实验以保证实验的准确性。每孔含500 ng质粒,用lipo8000为转染试剂转染到细胞当中。每孔添加1 μL的转染试剂和40 ng的pRL-TK质粒作为内参。最后将含有10%肽牛血清的DMEM培养基补充到25 μL。

1.9.5 双荧光素酶检测

细胞转染36~48 h后,根据细胞状态用双荧光素酶试剂盒(碧云天)进行双荧光素酶检测。将100 μL细胞裂解液加入不透明的细胞检测板中,然后加入100 μL萤火虫荧光素酶,在多功能酶标仪上进行萤火虫荧光素酶的相对发光单位(relative light unit, RLU)检测。待检测完后再加入100 μL海肾荧光素酶检测液,测定海肾荧光素酶的RLU。使用Varioskan Flash spectral scanning multimode reader (Thermo)测定,测定时间为10 s,间隔2 s,波长为450 nm。用IBM SPSS Statistics 23软件处理数据以及Origin 2018软件作图。

2 结果 2.1 rimoc1的克隆及特征

本研究获得了1 588 bp的rimoc1全长cDNA,包括64 bp的5´UTR、834 bp的ORF和690 bp的3´UTR片段,ORF编码一个277个氨基酸构成的蛋白质,预测相对分子量为32.22 kDa,等电点为5.05。系统发育分析显示,脊椎动物rimoc1分为两支,其中,半滑舌鳎和其他鱼类的rimoc1聚为一支,其他脊椎动物rimoc1聚为另一支(图 1)。

图 1 脊椎动物中Rimoc1蛋白系统进化树 Fig.1 Phylogenetic tree of Rimoc1 proteins in vertebrate
2.2 rimoc1基因在不同组织间的差异表达

为了分析rimoc1在不同组织间的表达模式,使用来自1.5 yph半滑舌鳎的8个不同组织进行qPCR检测。在雄鱼组织中没有检测到rimoc1表达(数据未显示)。在雌鱼的8个组织中均检测到rimoc1表达,其中,肌肉中的表达量最高,卵巢中的表达量仅次于肌肉,随后是脑。rimoc1在肠、肾脏、脾脏和心脏中的表达量偏低(图 2)。

图 2 半滑舌鳎rimoc1在不同组织中的表达 Fig.2 Expression of rimoc1 gene in different tissues of C. semilaevis 不同字母表示样本间有显著差异(P<0.05)。图 3图 7同。 The different letters represent significant differences between samples. The same in Fig.3 and Fig.7.
2.3 rimoc1基因在性腺的表达模式分析

通过qPCR进一步检测在性腺发育的不同时间rimoc1的表达情况。如图 3所示,rimoc1在卵巢所有发育阶段中均能检测到表达,自40 d开始表达量逐渐升高,在180 d表达量降低,但在1.5 y时表达量达到峰值,随后表达量开始下降,并在3 y时趋于稳定。

图 3 半滑舌鳎rimoc1不同时间卵巢中的表达模式 Fig.3 Gonadal expression pattern of rimoc1 in C. semilaevis ovary at different time

图 4A~C所示,在1 yph的雌鱼卵巢中可以观察到信号主要分布在卵母细胞中。在Ⅰ~Ⅳ期的卵母细胞中均能观察到信号,信号在早期的卵母细胞(Ⅰ~Ⅲ期)相对更强(图 4C)。而作为阴性对照的正义探针,在卵巢中未检测出明显的信号(图 4D~H)。

图 4 半滑舌鳎rimoc1原位杂交结果 Fig.4 Results of rimoc1 in situ hybridization of C. semilaevis A~C为反义探针,D~F为正义探针。图C中Ⅰ~Ⅳ分别为卵母细胞的各个时期。 A~C: Antisense probe; D~F: Sense probe. Ⅰ~Ⅳ in C are the developing stages of oocyte.
2.4 siRNA介导的rimoc1敲除及其对性别和生长相关基因表达的影响

为了确定沉默效果,在siRNA转染48 h后,qPCR检测rimoc1的表达,发现其表达降低至约19%,敲除效果明显(P<0.05)(图 5)。对生长相关基因igf1和性别分化相关基因sox9asox9bcyp19afox12的表达水平进行检测,发现igf1表达量降低了54%,sox9b降低了31%,fox12降低了24%,sox9升高了29%,cyp19a有所升高,但差异不显著(图 6)。

图 5 半滑舌鳎rimoc1敲降后的表达变化 Fig.5 Expression change in C. semilaevis after rimoc1 knockdown *表示显著差异(P<0.05)。图 6同。 * means significant difference (P < 0.05). The same in Fig.6.
图 6 半滑舌鳎rimoc1敲降后下游基因的表达变化 Fig.6 Change of downstream gene expression after rimoc1 knockdown in C. semilaevis
2.5 启动子活性分析

根据双荧光素酶检测结果(图 7),相对于阴性对照组,半滑舌鳎rimoc1启动子具有较强的活性。与对照组只转染rimoc1启动子质粒相比,rimoc1启动子质粒与C/EBPalpha、Sox2、C-Jun转录因子共转染均显示更高的荧光素酶活性,但只与C/EBPalpha结合后的升高有显著差异(P<0.05)。

图 7 半滑舌鳎rimoc1启动子转录活性分析 Fig.7 Transcriptional activity analysis of rimoc1 promoter in C. semilaevis
3 讨论

半滑舌鳎的性别决定发生在50 d左右,而性腺分化则在60 d开始,但细胞层面的分化相对滞后,卵巢细胞分化通常发生在90~120 d,并伴有卵巢腔的出现(Chen et al, 2014)。随后卵母细胞继续分化,并在约2龄时达到性成熟。因此,90 d时的rimoc1高表达与半滑舌鳎自然生长的卵巢细胞分化是一致的。

启动子活性分析显示,rimoc1上游981 bp处具有转录活性,且启动活性较强,与C/EBPalpha、Sox2和C-Jun转录因子共转染之后活性均得到了增强(虽然只有C/EBPalpha组有显著差异),说明这3个转录因子对rimoc1转录起到增强作用。C/EBPalpha主要在角质细胞(Oh et al, 2007)和脂肪细胞(Lefterova et al, 2008)分化中发挥作用,其对半滑舌鳎rimoc1的调控究竟发挥怎样的生物学功能,仍有待进一步研究。

关于rimoc1在性别分化中的功能报道较少,本研究对卵巢细胞系中通过siRNA介导的RNA干扰仅进行了功能初探。通过荧光定量PCR结果可以看出,rimoc1基因干扰后,igf1sox9asox9bfoxl2的表达水平相较于对照组均有不同程度的变化,其中,sox9a表达量上调,而igf1sox9bfoxl2表达量下调。鱼类igf1与生殖功能和性腺发育密切相关(Lucy et al, 2012; Reinecke, 2010; Vong et al, 2003; Wuertz et al, 2007)。在罗非鱼中,igf1在卵巢发生的前期至卵母细胞成熟过程中均可检测到表达。同时,igf1参与生长激素的调节,从而参与生长调控(Puche et al, 2012)。由于1龄半滑舌鳎开始出现性别生长二态性,同时,不同发育阶段的定量结果表明,rimoc1基因在180 dph的表达量开始上升,直至1.5龄表达量达到峰值。rimoc1基因是否在生长中有着潜在的调控功能,值得深入研究。

sox9是一种关键的转录因子,在调节各种细胞类型的增殖和分化中发挥重要作用(Eftekhary et al, 2019)。sox9在胚胎发育中的作用至关重要,其表达贯穿整个胚胎发育过程,sox9在成人组织中也保持表达,在内皮和外胚层器官的产后损伤修复中也发挥着重要作用。sox9a在性别分化中的作用也屡见报道。由于sox9acyp19a共同形成性别分化的调节途径,推测rimoc1通过调节类固醇激素途径参与卵巢发育和卵子发生。sox9b在早期半滑舌鳎的性腺中表现出高表达,而敲除rimoc1基因导致其表达量减低,表明rimoc1sox9b共同作用来调控半滑舌鳎的性腺分化。foxl2在动物的性别决定和分化、卵巢的发育与维持、胚胎发育和免疫调节等过程中均发挥着作用(He et al, 2020)。研究发现,foxl2在小鼠中能正向调控卵巢的分化(Loffler et al, 2003),foxl2的持续表达可以抑制小鼠生长发育过程中的卵巢细胞向睾丸细胞异常分化,从而维持其表观雌性(Matson et al, 2011),同时,foxl2的缺失也会导致卵巢的发育不良,甚至导致雌性不育(Nicol et al, 2020)。rimoc1基因敲除导致其表达量减低,表明rimoc1可能与半滑舌鳎卵巢发育密切相关。因此,深入了解rimoc1的功能和调控机制,可能是解析性别生长二态性的关键。

4 结论

本研究采用qPCR方法、原位杂交、siRNA干扰以及启动子活性分析方法,探究rimoc1基因在半滑舌鳎雌雄鱼中的表达差异及与性别和生长的关系。结果表明,rimoc1在雌鱼中特异表达,在卵巢和肌肉表达量最高。在不同发育阶段的卵巢中,其表达相对稳定,在1.5 yph和3 yph的水平有所增加。启动子活性分析表明,rimoc1启动子可能受到C/EBPdelta、Sox2和c-Jun等转录因子的调控。在半滑舌鳎卵巢细胞系中,通过siRNA干扰rimoc1后发现,生长相关基因igf1、性别分化相关基因sox9bfoxl2的表达水平显著降低,而sox9a的表达升高。推测rimoc1可能在半滑舌鳎的性别分化和生长中发挥重要作用,这为深入研究半滑舌鳎的性别生长二态性提供了基础。

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