Stress, novel sex genes, and epigenetic reprogramming orchestrate socially controlled sex change.
Erica V ToddOscar Ortega-RecaldeHui LiuMelissa S LammKim M RutherfordHugh CrossMichael A BlackOlga KardailskyJennifer A Marshall GravesTimothy Alexander HoreJohn R GodwinNeil J GemmellPublished in: Science advances (2019)
Bluehead wrasses undergo dramatic, socially cued female-to-male sex change. We apply transcriptomic and methylome approaches in this wild coral reef fish to identify the primary trigger and subsequent molecular cascade of gonadal metamorphosis. Our data suggest that the environmental stimulus is exerted via the stress axis and that repression of the aromatase gene (encoding the enzyme converting androgens to estrogens) triggers a cascaded collapse of feminizing gene expression and identifies notable sex-specific gene neofunctionalization. Furthermore, sex change involves distinct epigenetic reprogramming and an intermediate state with altered epigenetic machinery expression akin to the early developmental cells of mammals. These findings reveal at a molecular level how a normally committed developmental process remains plastic and is reversed to completely alter organ structures.
Keyphrases
- genome wide
- dna methylation
- gene expression
- copy number
- genome wide identification
- single cell
- poor prognosis
- stress induced
- cell cycle arrest
- machine learning
- single molecule
- rna seq
- oxidative stress
- risk assessment
- human health
- artificial intelligence
- cell proliferation
- genetic diversity
- deep learning
- genome wide analysis
- heat stress