RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Meta-analysis of gonadal transcriptome provides novel insights into sex change mechanism across protogynous fishes JF bioRxiv FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory SP 2023.07.09.545663 DO 10.1101/2023.07.09.545663 A1 Nozu, Ryo A1 Kadota, Mitsutaka A1 Nakamura, Masaru A1 Kuraku, Shigehiro A1 Bono, Hidemasa YR 2024 UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2024/08/25/2023.07.09.545663.abstract AB Protogyny, being capable of changing from female to male during their lifetime, is prevalent in 20 families of teleosts but is believed to have evolved within specific evolutionary lineages. Therefore, shared regulatory factors governing the sex change process are expected to be conserved across protogynous fishes. However, a comprehensive understanding of this mechanism remains elusive. To identify these factors, we conducted a meta-analysis using gonadal transcriptome data from seven species. We curated data pairs of ovarian tissue and transitional gonad, and employed ratios of expression level as a unified criterion for differential expression, enabling a meta-analysis across species. Our approach revealed that classical sex change-related genes exhibited differential expression levels between the ovary and transitional gonads, consistent with previous reports. These results validate our methodology’s robustness. Additionally, we identified novel genes not previously linked to gonadal sex change in fish. Notably, changes in the expression levels of acetoacetyl-CoA synthetase and apolipoprotein Eb, which are involved in cholesterol synthesis and transport, respectively, suggest that the levels of cholesterol, a precursor of steroid hormones crucial for sex change, are decreased upon sex change onset in the gonads. This implies a potential universal influence of cholesterol dynamics on gonadal transformation in protogyny.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.