Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Gonadal (HPG) Axis and Transcriptional Regulatory Elements Regulate piwil2 Gene Expression During
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Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Gonadal (HPG) Axis and Transcriptional Regulatory Elements Regulate piwil2 Gene Expression During Gametogenesis and Gonadal Development in Japanese Flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) NI Feifei1), YU Haiyang1), QU Jiangbo1), MENG Lihui1), LIU Xiumei2), YAN Weijie1), CHANG Jing1), ZHANG Quanqi1), WANG Xubo1), and YU Haiyang1), * 1) Key Laboratory of Marine Genetics and Breeding, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China 2) College of Life Sciences, Yantai University, Yantai 264005, China (Received January 7, 2020; revised March 3, 2020; accepted June 19, 2020) © Ocean University of China, Science Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany 2020 Abstract The P-element induced wimpy testis (Piwi) proteins, which are associated with PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), play important roles in meiosis, germ cell division, and germline maintenance. In this study, we identified and characterized the Paralichthys olivaceus piwil2 gene, a constituent factor of the piRNA pathways involved in the biogenesis of reproductive development. The biological analysis indicated that piwil2, which contains PAZ and PIWI domains, was highly conserved between teleosts and tetrapods. The piwil2 distribution profile in different tissues confirmed a sexually dimorphic expression pattern, with a higher expression level in testis. In situ hybridization demonstrated that piwil2 was expressed in the oogonia and oocytes of the ovaries as well as in the Sertoli cells and spermatocytes of the testes. Gene piwil2 showed a maternally inherited expression pattern during embryonic development, and was highly expressed during the early embryonic development. Different luciferase reporters were constructed to determine the transcriptional regulatory mechanisms of piwil2. The piwil2 core promoter region was located at −360 bp to −60 bp. Furthermore, some representative sex hormones, including human chorionic gonadotropin, 17α-methyltestosterone, and estradiol-17β had distinct regulatory effects on piwil2. In a summery, these results indicate that piwil2, regulated by sex hormones and transcriptional elements, has vital functions in the reproductive cycle and gonadal development. Key words piwil2; gametogenesis and gonadal development; HPG axis; transcriptional regulatory elements; Paralichthys olivaceus
1 Introduction Gametogenesis, including spermatogenesis and oogenesis, is a complex process that is regulated by internal and external factors (Zhang et al., 2014). Internal factors, including the regulation of spatial and temporal genes and the formation of an RNA-induced silencing complex, play major roles in vertebrate gametogenesis (Schultz et al., 2003). The Argonaute family of proteins forms a typical element of the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) and plays a crucial role regulating small RNA in gene silencing. The Argonaute family proteins are divided into the Ago- and Piwi subfamilies (Carmell et al., 2002). The Ago-subfamily proteins exist in all types of cells. They can combine with small interfering
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