Integrative analysis of miRNA-mRNA expression in the brain during high temperature-induced masculinization of female Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

Bingjie Jiang; Siqi Lu; Yan Li; M F Badran; Yalun Dong; Pao Xu; Jun Qiang; Yifan Tao

doi:10.1016/j.ygeno.2024.110856

Integrative analysis of miRNA-mRNA expression in the brain during high temperature-induced masculinization of female Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

Genomics. 2024 May 10;116(3):110856. doi: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2024.110856. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Bingjie Jiang¹, Siqi Lu¹, Yan Li², M F Badran³, Yalun Dong¹, Pao Xu⁴, Jun Qiang⁵, Yifan Tao⁶

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fisheries and Germplasm Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Freshwater Fisheries Research Center of Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China.
² Wuxi Fisheries College, Nanjing Agricultural University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China.
³ Aquatic Hatchery Production Department, Fish Farming and Technology Institute, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fisheries and Germplasm Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Freshwater Fisheries Research Center of Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China; Wuxi Fisheries College, Nanjing Agricultural University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fisheries and Germplasm Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Freshwater Fisheries Research Center of Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China; Wuxi Fisheries College, Nanjing Agricultural University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China. Electronic address: qiangj@ffrc.cn.
⁶ Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fisheries and Germplasm Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Freshwater Fisheries Research Center of Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China. Electronic address: taoyifan@ffrc.cn.

PMID: 38734154
DOI: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2024.110856

Abstract

Temperature is one of the most important non-genetic sex differentiation factors for fish. The technique of high temperature-induced sex reversal is commonly used in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) culture, although the molecular regulatory mechanisms involved in this process remain unclear. The brain is an essential organ for the regulation of neural signals involved in germ cell differentiation and gonad development. To investigate the regulatory roles of miRNAs-mRNAs in the conversion of female to male Nile tilapia gender under high-temperature stress, we compared RNA-Seq data from brain tissues between a control group (28 °C) and a high temperature-treated group (36 °C). The result showed that a total of 123,432,984 miRNA valid reads, 288,202,524 mRNA clean reads, 1128 miRNAs, and 32,918 mRNAs were obtained. Among them, there were 222 significant differentially expressed miRNAs (DE miRNAs) and 810 differentially expressed mRNAs (DE mRNAs) between the two groups. Eight DE miRNAs and eight DE mRNAs were randomly selected, and their expression patterns were validated by qRT-PCR. The miRNA-mRNA co-expression network demonstrated that 40 DE miRNAs targeted 136 protein-coding genes. Functional enrichment analysis demonstrated that these genes were involved in several gonadal differentiation pathways, including the oocyte meiosis signaling pathway, progesterone-mediated oocyte maturation signaling pathway, cell cycle signaling pathway and GnRH signaling pathway. Then, an interaction network was constructed for 8 miRNAs (mir-137-5p, let-7d, mir-1388-5p, mir-124-4-5p, mir-1306, mir-99, mir-130b and mir-21) and 10 mRNAs (smc1al, itpr2, mapk1, ints8, cpeb1b, bub1, fbxo5, mmp14b, cdk1 and hrasb) involved in the oocyte meiosis signaling pathway. These findings provide novel information about the mechanisms underlying miRNA-mediated sex reversal in female Nile tilapia.

Keywords: Brain tissues; High temperature-induced; Oreochromis niloticus; Sex reversal; miRNA-mRNA expression.

Publication types

Review