Comparative transcriptome analysis reveals differential expression of sex-related genes in androgenic glands and ovaries of Macrobrachium rosenbergii

Abstract Macrobrachium rosenbergii is an economically important crustacean worldwide. Based on the important role of the androgenic gland (AG) in sex determination in crustaceans, this study comparatively analysed the transcriptomes of AG and ovary tissues using Illumina sequencing technology. A total of 91,810 unigenes were generated from the six libraries after splicing and assembly, and 28,516 (31.1%) were annotated by BLASTx comparison with Nr and other databases. A total of 20,793 differentially expressed genes were identified in both tissues including 105 potentially related to sex determination and sex differentiation, of which 12 were ovary-specific and five were AG-specific. In addition, 14,794 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and 289,882 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified. This study enriches the database of molecular genetic information available for M. rosenbergii , establishes a foundation for the analysis and application of molecular regulatory mechanisms of its reproductive traits, and advances the study of sex determination and sex differentiation in crustaceans. SSRs and SNPs mined from the transcriptomes may provide markers for functional genome research and the development of new technologies for molecular breeding.