As an important economic marine species cultured in China, Chinese tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis) has interested us due to its sexual dimorphism and ZW/ZZ sex determination system. In a previous study, dmrt1 was identified as a dosage-dependent male-determining gene. In the present study, a female-specific expressed gene, cse0440, initially annotated as lrp1b-like, was identified from chromosome W of C. semilaevis. In view of the differences between cse0440 and lrp1b in terms of expression pattern, a phylogenetic analysis containing 85 LRP proteins was constructed and provided an evidence to re-annotate cse0440 as cseLRP13. In addition, two orthologues of cseLRP13 were separately identified from W and Z chromosomes: cseLRP13-W and cseLRP13-Z. The subsequent multiple sequence alignment and syntenic arrangements of LRP13 in C. semilaevis, Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes), large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea), striped bass (Morone saxatilis), white perch (Morone americana) and Fugu rubripes (Takifugu rubripes) further supported this re-annotation. RT-PCR and in situ hybridization revealed that cselrp13 was exclusively expressed in the oocytes and follicles of ovaries. These results suggested that lrp13 may play important roles in female reproduction. In future, with the advancement of micromanipulation in flatfish, the detailed function of two lrp13 orthologues in C. semilaevis will be elucidated.
Keywords: Chinese tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis); Low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 13 (LRP13); Medaka (Oryzias latipes); cse0440.