The Effects of Synthetic Estrogen Exposure on the Sexually Dimorphic Liver Transcriptome of the Sex-Role-Reversed Gulf Pipefish

摘要: Species exhibiting sex-role reversal provide an unusual perspective on the evolution of sex roles and differences. However, proximate effects are largely unknown. Endocrine disruptors experimental mechanism to address hormonal regulation sexually dimorphic gene expression in sex-role-reversed taxa. Here, we investigate patterns liver Gulf pipefish, because is known be estrogen-regulated species with conventional roles. Using next-generation RNA-sequencing technology (RNA-seq), detected hepatic patterns, a total 482 differentially expressed genes between sexes pipefish. Two-thirds these were over-expressed females, sex-specific transcriptomes this pipefish's superficially similar those fishes sex-roles. We exposed pregnant males, non-pregnant males 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2) at ecologically relevant concentrations 5ng/L compared livers fish control fish. Several that up-regulated EE2-exposed relative also found female-biased animals. These included several classic estrogen biomarkers, such as vitellogenin, choriogenin, zona pellucida. Thus, exposure induced feminization male transcriptome results suggest ancestral state female reproductive physiology has been retained all vertebrates thus far studied, despite substantial ornamentation mating behavior interesting