GnRH Regulates Sex Differentiation in Sebastes schlegelii Through TGF-β/MAPK Signaling Pathways

  • Biology (Basel). 2026 May 30;15(11):857. doi: 10.3390/biology15110857.
Jinwei Huang  1  2  3 ,  Pingrui Xu  1  2  4 ,  Yongshuang Xiao  1  2  5 ,  Jun Li  1  2  5
Affiliations
  • 1. Key Laboratory of Breeding Biotechnology and Sustainable Aquaculture, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266000, China.
  • 2. Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Qingdao Marine Science and Technology Center, Qingdao 266237, China.
  • 3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
  • 4. College of Life Sciences, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao 266109, China.
  • 5. Shandong Province Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China.
PMID: 42274508 DOI: 10.3390/biology15110857
Abstract

Sex determination and gonadal differentiation are essential for vertebrate development and reproduction. Fish, with both genetic and environmental sex-determining mechanisms, serve as ideal models for exploring environmental effects on gonadal development. The hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis is involved in sex differentiation, but its role as a key mediator in temperature-dependent sex differentiation remains unclear. Sebastes schlegelii is an economically important marine fish species along the northern coast of China. It exhibits obvious sexual growth dimorphism and typical temperature-dependent sex differentiation, making it an excellent model for investigating the mechanism of sex differentiation. In this study, individuals of S. schlegelii at the sex differentiation stage were treated with a GnRH Receptor antagonist and subjected to transcriptome Sequencing analysis. The results revealed that GnRH may regulate sex differentiation through steroid biosynthesis, TGF-β and MAPK signaling pathways. We identified several key genes, including srd5, bmp8a, bmp2, fgf23, pdgfra, and EGFR, which may affect gonadal differentiation by acting on core sex-determining genes and steroidogenesis. In conclusion, GnRH precisely mediates the process of sex differentiation by modulating the TGF-β signaling pathway, the MAPK signaling pathway, and local gonadal steroidogenic networks.

Keywords
GnRH; Sebastes schlegelii; sex differentiation.
Products