Sex steroid hormones are widely detected in molluscs and play important roles in sex determination, gonadal tissue maturation, and gametogenesis. Nevertheless, the signaling pathways of sex steroids in cephalopod have not yet been clearly elucidated. In the present study, a full-length sequence encoding the estrogen receptor (ER) was isolated from common Chinese cuttlefish, Sepiella japonica. The sjER cDNA clone was found to contain 1,788 nucleotides including a 1,470 bp open reading frame encoding 489 amino acid (aa) residues. The deduced ER protein consisted of six nuclear receptor characteristic domains. Based on a phylogenetic analysis, the ER DNA-binding domain and ligand-binding domain are highly conserved compared to other mollusc ERs. Highest aa identities were found for sjER with common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) ER (89%) and pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) ER (61%). Tissue expression analysis confirmed that sjER was widely distributed among tissues and predominantly expressed in the brain, liver, gonad (testis and ovary), and other accessory sexual gland (nidamental gland). The ER expression was temporally upregulated in the brain, liver, and ovary during the early sexual maturation period in S. japonica, which is coincident with the fluctuation of ovary estradiol content. These suggest that sjER may be involved in regulating the reproductive cycle of S. japonica. A fusion protein transient transfections assay showed that sjER was mainly located in the nucleus, suggesting a possible orthodox working mechanism of S. japonica ER in the nucleus through a ligand-dependent activation of specific gene transcription.
© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.