Comparative Transcriptome Analysis of Differentially Expressed Genes in the Testis and Ovary of Sea Urchin (Strongylocentrotus intermedius)

Abstract

The quality of sea urchin gonad is important to consumers with high standards for nutrition and taste. However, few studies have been conductedon the molecular mechanisms that determine the quality of male and female sea urchins. In this study, our goal was to understand the differences and characteristics of gonad quality between sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus intermedius) males and females. The transcriptomes of males and females were obtained, with totals of 43,797,146 and 56,222,782 raw reads, respectively, comprising 128,979 transcripts and 85,745 unigenes. After comparative transcriptome analysis, a total of 6736 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the males and females were identified, of which 2950 genes were up-regulated and 3786 genes were down-regulated in males. We compared the expression of twelve DEGs with significant differences their expression levels and functional annotations to confirm the reliability of the RNA-Seq data. Five DEGs related to gonadal quality were found through enrichment analysis of KEGG pathways: 17β-HSD8, PGDH, FAXDC2, C4MO, and PNPLA7. Our study analyzes genes related to the taste and flavor of sea urchin gonads among the sexes and provides reference sequences and fundamental information concerning the nutrition and taste of S. intermedius gonads.