Screening of Genes Related to Sex Determination and Differentiation in Mandarin Fish ( Siniperca chuatsi )

Mandarin fish has an XX/XY sex-determination system. The female mandarin fish is typically larger than the male. Sex identification and the discovery of genes related to sex determination in mandarin fish have important theoretical significance in the elucidation of the regulation and evolutionary mechanism of animal reproductive development. In this study, the chromosome-level genome of a female mandarin fish was assembled, and we found that LG24 of the genome was an X chromosome. A total of 61 genes on the X chromosome showed sex-biased expression. Only six gonadal genes (LG24G00426, LG24G003280, LG24G003300, LG24G003730, LG24G004200, and LG24G004770) were expressed in the testes, and the expression of the other gene LG24G003870 isoform 1 in the ovaries was significantly higher than that in the testes (p < 0.01). Five (except LG24G003280 and LG24G003300) of the seven aforementioned genes were expressed at the embryonic development stage, suggesting their involvement in early sex determination. The expression of LG24G004770 (encoding HS6ST 3-B-like) was also significantly higher in female muscles than in male muscles (p < 0.01), indicating other functions related to female growth. ZP3 encoded by LG24G003870 isoform 1 increased the C-terminal transmembrane domain, compared with that encoded by other fish zp3 isoforms, indicating their different functions in sex determination or differentiation. This study provides a foundation for the identification of sex-determining genes in mandarin fish.