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Sexually dimorphic expression of the sex chromosome-linked genes cntfa and pdlim3a in the medaka brain

Publication Type : Journal Article

Thematic Areas : Nanosciences and Molecular Medicine

Publisher : Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications

Source : Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, Volume 445, Number 1, p.113 - 119 (2014)

Url : http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006291X14001661

Keywords : Sex differences

Campus : Kochi

School : Center for Nanosciences

Center : Amrita Center for Nanosciences and Molecular Medicine Move, Nanosciences

Department : Nanosciences and Molecular Medicine

Year : 2014

Abstract : In vertebrates, sex differences in the brain have been attributed to differences in gonadal hormone secretion; however, recent evidence in mammals and birds shows that sex chromosome-linked genes, independent of gonadal hormones, also mediate sex differences in the brain. In this study, we searched for genes that were differentially expressed between the sexes in the brain of a teleost fish, medaka (Oryzias latipes), and identified two sex chromosome genes with male-biased expression, cntfa (encoding ciliary neurotrophic factor a) and pdlim3a (encoding {PDZ} and {LIM} domain 3 a). These genes were found to be located 3–4 Mb from and on opposite sides of the Y chromosome-specific region containing the sex-determining gene (the medaka X and Y chromosomes are genetically identical, differing only in this region). The male-biased expression of both genes was evident prior to the onset of sexual maturity. Sex-reversed {XY} females, as well as wild-type {XY} males, had more pronounced expression of these genes than {XX} males and {XX} females, indicating that the Y allele confers higher expression than the X allele for both genes. In addition, their expression was affected to some extent by sex steroid hormones, thereby possibly serving as focal points of the crosstalk between the genetic and hormonal pathways underlying brain sex differences. Given that sex chromosomes of lower vertebrates, including teleost fish, have evolved independently in different genera or species, sex chromosome genes with sexually dimorphic expression in the brain may contribute to genus- or species-specific sex differences in a variety of traits.

Cite this Research Publication : S. Maehiro, Takeuchi, A., Yamashita, J., Hiraki, T., Kawabata, Y., Nakasone, K., Hosono, K., Usami, T., Dr. Bindhu Paul, Yoshitaka Nagahama, Oka, Y., and Okubo, K., “Sexually dimorphic expression of the sex chromosome-linked genes cntfa and pdlim3a in the medaka brain”, Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, vol. 445, pp. 113 - 119, 2014.

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