The Role of the Heat Shock Cognate Protein 70 Genes in Sex Determination and Differentiation of Chinese Tongue Sole (<i>Cynoglossus semilaevis</i>)
Fish sex determination can be affected by environmental temperature. This process relies on temperature-sensitive proteins such as heat shock proteins (HSPs). Our previous work found that heat shock cognate proteins (HSCs) may participate in high-temperature associated sex reversal of Chinese tongue...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-02-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/4/3761 |
| Summary: | Fish sex determination can be affected by environmental temperature. This process relies on temperature-sensitive proteins such as heat shock proteins (HSPs). Our previous work found that heat shock cognate proteins (HSCs) may participate in high-temperature associated sex reversal of Chinese tongue sole (<i>Cynoglossus semilaevis</i>). However, the role of <i>hsc</i> genes in responding to high temperature and affecting sex determination/differentiation remains unclear. Here, by using <i>C. semilaevis</i> as model, we identified <i>hsc70</i> and <i>hsc70-like</i>. <i>hsc70</i> was abundant in the gonads with a testicular-higher expression at all gonadal development stages except for 6 months post fertilization (mpf). Intriguingly, <i>hsc70-like</i> showed higher expression in testes from 6 mpf on. Both long-term heat treatment during the temperature-sensitive sex-determining period and short-term heat stress at the end of this period caused different expression of <i>hsc70</i>/<i>hsc70-like</i> between sexes. The dual-luciferase assay results also suggested that these genes can respond to high temperature rapidly <i>in vitro</i>. Heat treatment of <i>C. semilaevis</i> testis cells overexpressed with <i>hsc70</i>/<i>hsc70-like</i> could affect the expression of sex-related genes <i>sox9a</i> and <i>cyp19a1a</i>. Our results indicated that <i>hsc70</i> and <i>hsc70-like</i> were key regulators linking external high-temperature signals with sex differentiation <i>in vivo</i> and provide a new idea for understanding the mechanism by which high temperature affects sex determination/differentiation in teleosts. |
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| ISSN: | 1661-6596 1422-0067 |