Cloning and functional analysis of c/ebpα as negative regulator of dmrt1 in Chinese tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis).

Qian Wang, Rui Wang, Bo Feng, Shuo Li, Shahid Mahboob, Changwei Shao

Gene 2021 Feb 05

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c/ebpα is a member of the C/EBP family of transcription factors, which are involved in cell growth and differentiation and have a conserved basic leucine zipper (bZIP) domain. However, little is known about its function in sex determination and differentiation. In the present study, c/ebpα was cloned from the gonads of Chinese tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis). The full-length cDNA of c/ebpα was 1583 bp, with a 198-bp 5' UTR, a 446-bp 3' UTR, and a 939-bp open reading frame encoding a 312-amino acid peptide. qRT-PCR revealed that c/ebpα was predominantly expressed in undifferentiated gonads of male C. semilaevis at 30 dpf and 60 dpf and peaked at 60 dpf. Expression levels of c/ebpα in the testis were constantly higher than those in ovaries at all developmental stages. Moreover, a dual-luciferase assay revealed that c/ebpα could negatively regulate the male-determining gene dmrt1 in vitro. These results provide fundamental information indicating that C. semilaevis c/ebpa might be involved in early gonadal differentiation and functions as a negative regulator of dmrt1 by repressing its transcription. Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Citation

Qian Wang, Rui Wang, Bo Feng, Shuo Li, Shahid Mahboob, Changwei Shao. Cloning and functional analysis of c/ebpα as negative regulator of dmrt1 in Chinese tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis). Gene. 2021 Feb 05;768:145321