Scientists Reveal Novel Genes Affecting Sex Determination in Yellow Catfish

Yellow catfish (Pelteobagrus fulvidraco) is a vital freshwater species in China. It exhibits sexual size dimorphism favoring male in growth. Hence, devising a monosex production will be more profitable. Besides gonads, the brain is considered as a major organ for vertebrate reproduction.

Transcriptomic analyses of the brain at different developmental stages will provide the view necessary for better understanding sex determination in yellow catfish. The research team of Jianguo Lu from the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences has performed a de novo assembly of yellow catfish brain transcriptome.

Thirteen unigenes were found to be specifically expressed in 1-year-old male yellow catfish, while 54 unigenes were specifically expressed in 2-year-old male yellow catfishes. On the other hand, females have 19 and 13 specifically expressed unigenes for one and two year old catfishes, respectively.

Their results identify a set of genes that may enhance the understanding of yellow catfish sex determination and potentially help to improve the production of all-male yellow catfish.

For more information, visit the full article on Marine Biotechnology.