PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Xinxin Wang
AU  - Xin Ma
AU  - Gaobo Wei
AU  - Weirui Ma
AU  - Zhen Zhang
AU  - Xuepeng Chen
AU  - Lei Gao
AU  - Zhenbo Liu
AU  - Yue Yuan
AU  - Lizhi Yi
AU  - Jun Wang
AU  - Toshinobu Tokumoto
AU  - Junjiu Huang
AU  - Dahua Chen
AU  - Jian Zhang
AU  - Jiang Liu
TI  - DNA Methylation Reprogramming during Sex Determination and Transition in Zebrafish
AID  - 10.1101/2020.09.17.301580
DP  - 2020 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 2020.09.17.301580
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/09/19/2020.09.17.301580.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/09/19/2020.09.17.301580.full
AB  - It is a mystery about sex determination and sexual plasticity in species without sex chromosomes. DNA methylation is a prevalent epigenetic modification in vertebrates, which has been shown to involve in the regulation of gene expression and embryo development. However, it remains unclear about how DNA methylation regulates sexual development. To elucidate it, we used zebrafish to investigate DNA methylation reprogramming during juvenile germ cell development and adult female-to-male sex transition. We revealed that primordial germ cells (PGCs) undergo significant DNA methylation reprogramming during germline development and set to an oocyte/ovary-like pattern at 9 days post fertilization (9 dpf). When blocking DNMTs activity in juveniles after 9 dpf, the zebrafish preferably develops into females. We also show that Tet3 involves in PGC development. Notably, we find that DNA methylome reprogramming during adult zebrafish sex transition is similar to the reprogramming during the sex differentiation from 9 dpf PGCs to sperm. Furthermore, inhibiting DNMTs activity can prevent the female-to-male sex transition, suggesting that methylation reprogramming is required for zebrafish sex transition. In summary, DNA methylation plays important roles in zebrafish germline development and sexual plasticity.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.