International Journal of Molecular Sciences

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Prof. Dr. Hongtuo Fu

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Guest Editor

1. Wuxi Fisheries College, Nanjing Agricultural University, Wuxi 214081, China
2. Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fisheries and Germplasm Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Freshwater Fisheries Research Center, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuxi 214081, China
Interests: biological breeding; reproduction of the oriental river prawn (Macrobrachium nipponense); aquatic animal
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Hui Qiao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fisheries and Germplasm Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Freshwater Fisheries Research Center, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuxi 214081, China
Interests: aquaculture; biotechnology; germplasm improvement; genetic breeding; gene function; genomics; gene editing; population genetics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Reproduction and fertility are complex mechanisms in aquatic animals. Many aquatic animals have sexual dimorphism between male and female individuals, showing significant differences in growth. Thus, monosex culture may have dramatic economic benefits. Many economic aquatic animals are widely cultured in many countries and regions. However, both rapid and slow gonad development have negative effects on sustainable development. Slow gonad development will extend the breeding cycle, while rapid gonad development will result in inbreeding between new-born animals, leading to short life span, small size and low disease resistance. Therefore, analyses of their reproductive mechanisms are equally important, including but not limited to molecular functional studies of sex differentiation and gonadal development. In addition, several biological or chemical reagents have been shown to have significant effects on aquatic animal reproduction and fertility, such as steroid hormones, sex-determining genes, etc. Thus, the mechanisms of sex-determination and reproduction needed to be fully understood in order to establish techniques to produce monosex cultures and regulate gonad development in aquatic animals. Significant progress has been made over the past few decades in areas such as biological reproduction and developmental processes. However, relatively little has been conducted in fish, crustaceans and shellfish. The effects of steroid hormones on the process of sex-determination and reproduction in aquatic animals will continue to be unraveled, as well as identifying the complex signaling networks and genes regulated by the steroid hormone. Identification of the roles of nutritional and environmental factors on hormone secretion, hormone balance and corresponding sex-determination and reproduction outcomes altered by changed hormone levels are areas of focus.

Reviews or research articles in this fascinating area, which discuss the reproduction and fertility of aquatic animals and their applications or which aim to discern the bottlenecks in the field, are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Hongtuo Fu
Dr. Hui Qiao
Guest Editors

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (1 paper)

Research

16 pages, 5093 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Testis-Specific DMRT1 (Double Sex and Mab-3-Related Transcription Factor 1) Plays a Role in Spermatogenesis and Gonadal Development in the Hermaphrodite Boring Giant Clam Tridacna crocea

by Zohaib Noor, Zhen Zhao, Shuming Guo, Zonglu Wei, Borui Cai, Yanping Qin, Haitao Ma, Ziniu Yu, Jun Li and Yuehuan Zhang

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(11), 5574; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25115574 - 21 May 2024

Viewed by 331

Abstract

The testis-specific double sex and mab-3-related transcription factor 1 (DMRT1) has long been recognized as a crucial player in sex determination across vertebrates, and its essential role in gonadal development and the regulation of spermatogenesis is well established. Here, we report the cloning of the key spermatogenesis-related DMRT1 cDNA, named Tc-DMRT1, from the gonads of Tridacna crocea (T. crocea), with a molecular weight of 41.93 kDa and an isoelectric point of 7.83 (pI). Our hypothesis is that DMRT1 machinery governs spermatogenesis and regulates gonadogenesis. RNAi-mediated Tc-DMRT1 knockdown revealed its critical role in hindering spermatogenesis and reducing expression levels in boring giant clams. A histological analysis showed structural changes, with normal sperm cell counts in the control group (ds-EGFP) but significantly lower concentrations of sperm cells in the experimental group (ds-DMRT1). DMRT1 transcripts during embryogenesis exhibited a significantly high expression pattern (p < 0.05) during the early zygote stage, and whole-embryo in-situ hybridization confirmed its expression pattern throughout embryogenesis. A qRT-PCR analysis of various reproductive stages revealed an abundant expression of Tc-DMRT1 in the gonads during the male reproductive stage. In-situ hybridization showed tissue-specific expression of DMRT1, with a positive signal detected in male-stage gonadal tissues comprising sperm cells, while no signal was detected in other stages. Our study findings provide an initial understanding of the DMRT1 molecular machinery controlling spermatogenesis and its specificity in male-stage gonads of the key bivalve species, Tridacna crocea, and suggest that DMRT1 predominantly functions as a key regulator of spermatogenesis in giant clams. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Advance on Reproduction and Fertility of Aquatic Animals 2.0)

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