Transcriptome analysis of differentially expressed circular RNAs in the testis and ovary of golden pompano (Trachinotus blochii)

Shukui Sun; Feibiao Song; Liping Shi; Kaixi Zhang; Yue Gu; Junlong Sun; Jian Luo

doi:10.1016/j.cbd.2022.101052

Transcriptome analysis of differentially expressed circular RNAs in the testis and ovary of golden pompano (Trachinotus blochii)

Comp Biochem Physiol Part D Genomics Proteomics. 2023 Mar:45:101052. doi: 10.1016/j.cbd.2022.101052. Epub 2022 Dec 17.

Authors

Shukui Sun¹, Feibiao Song², Liping Shi¹, Kaixi Zhang¹, Yue Gu¹, Junlong Sun¹, Jian Luo³

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Marine Resources Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan Aquaculture Breeding Engineering Research Center, Hainan Academician Team Innovation Center, Sanya Nanfan Research Institute, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Marine Resources Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan Aquaculture Breeding Engineering Research Center, Hainan Academician Team Innovation Center, Sanya Nanfan Research Institute, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China. Electronic address: songfb@hainanu.edu.cn.
³ State Key Laboratory of Marine Resources Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan Aquaculture Breeding Engineering Research Center, Hainan Academician Team Innovation Center, Sanya Nanfan Research Institute, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China. Electronic address: luojian@hainanu.edu.cn.

PMID: 36563610
DOI: 10.1016/j.cbd.2022.101052

Abstract

The artificial breeding of golden pompano (Trachinotus blochii) has expanded greatly in recent years, and after long-term breeding efforts, clear sexual dimorphisms have been observed in T. blochii growth traits, with females growing faster. As sponges of microRNA (miRNAs), circular RNAs (CircRNAs) can alleviate miRNA inhibition of target mRNA. However, few studies have examined sex-related CircRNAs and none of those have looked at T. blochii. To further understand the role of CircRNAs in sex differentiation and sexual size dimorphism in T. blochii, six CircRNA libraries were constructed from the testes and ovaries of T. blochii. A total of 1522 CircRNAs were found distributed over all 24 chromosomes of T. blochii. 135 differentially expressed CircRNAs (DECs) were identified by screening, These DECs were then subjected to GO enrichment, which found 47 enriched pathways. A number of CircRNAs were enriched in cellular processes and metabolic processes. According to the KEGG pathway analysis, a series of sex differentiation pathways were enriched, including the GnRH, calcium, and MAPK signaling pathways. Furthermore, we selected two CircRNAs from the DECs named circ-cacna1b and circ-octc. We found that the cacna1b gene is regulated by 7 miRNAs, 3 of which were regulated by circ-cacna1b, i.e., mmu-miR-138-5p, fru-miR-138, and pma-miR-138b. In addition, the miRNA named pma-miR-138b can regulate sex-related genes, such as sox9 and dmrt1, among others. The co-expression network of CircRNA-miRNA-mRNA showed circ-cacna1b may play a crucial role in T. blochii sex differentiation by regulating pma-miR-138b to affect the expression of sex differentiation genes. The circ-octc may be one of the largest contributors to sexual size dimorphism during growth through its effect on lipid metabolism. These findings could broaden our understanding of CircRNAs and provide new insight into their function in sex differentiation and growth.

Keywords: Gonad; Growth; RNA-seq; Sex differentiation; Trachinotus blochii.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Female
Gene Expression Profiling
Male
MicroRNAs* / genetics
Ovary / metabolism
RNA, Circular* / genetics
RNA, Messenger
Testis / metabolism

Substances

RNA, Circular
MicroRNAs
RNA, Messenger