Characterization and sexual dimorphic expression of Cytochrome P450 genes in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonad axis of yellow catfish

Yellow catfish (Pelteobagrus fulvidraco) is an important freshwater fish species in China. In particular, an all-male population has been commercially produced for the males grow faster than females. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying sexual dimorphism of body size and sex differentiation are still unclear in yellow catfish. This study attempts to characterize and analyze the expression of Cytochrome P450 (CYP) family members that have been shown to play an important role in sex differentiation and metabolism in teleosts. A total of 25 CYP genes were identified from our transcriptomes by 454 pyrosequencing and Solexa sequencing, including 17 genes with complete open reading frame (ORF). Phylogenetic analyses were conducted to compare these genes with their counterparts from other teleosts. In the tissues of hypothalamic-pituitary-gonad (HPG) axis, most of the genes were expressed at uniform level in both sexes. However, multiple CYP genes displayed sexual dimorphic expression, such as cyp2AD, cyp4b, cyp8a, cyp11b2, cyp17a and cyp27a expressed at higher level in testis than in ovary, whereas cyp2g, cyp7a, cyp8b, cyp19a1a and cyp26a expressed at higher level in ovary than in testis. The expression response of six CYP genes in ovary was also assessed after 17α-methyltestosterone (MT) treatment. Testis-biased expressed cyp11b2 and cyp17a were significantly up-regulated, while cyp11a and cyp19a1a were reduced in ovary after MT treatment. Our work is helpful for understanding molecular evolution of CYP genes in vertebrates and the mechanism of sexual dimorphism in teleosts.