文献类型： 外文期刊

作者： Ou, Mi ¹ ; Zhang, Yang ¹ ; Huang, Rong ³ ; Wang, Yaping ³ ; Yin, Jianxiong ⁴ ; Luo, Qing ¹ ; Chen, Kunci ¹ ; Liu, Haiyang ¹ ; Zhang, Xincheng ¹ ; Fei, Shuzhan ¹ ; Sun, Yuandong ² ; Chen, Baixiang ⁴ ; Liu, Bingnan ⁴ ; Zhao, Jian ¹ ;

作者机构： 1.Chinese Acad Fishery Sci, Pearl River Fisheries Res Inst, Key Lab Trop & Subtrop Fishery Resources Applicat, Minist Agr & Rural Affairs, Guangzhou 510380, Peoples R China

2.Hunan Univ Sci & Technol, Sch Life & Hlth Sci, Xiangtan 411201, Peoples R China

3.Chinese Acad Sci, State Key Lab Freshwater Ecol & Biotechnol, Inst Hydrobiol, Wuhan 430072, Peoples R China

4.Guangdong Bairong Aquat Qual Breeding Grp Co Ltd, Foshan 528216, Peoples R China

关键词： Exogenous estrogen; Sex reversal; YY super-males; Snakehead

期刊名称：AQUACULTURE （ 影响因子：3.9； 五年影响因子：4.4 ）

ISSN： 0044-8486

年卷期： 2026 年 611 卷

页码：

收录情况： SCI

摘要： Northern snakehead (Channa argus), an economically significant freshwater fish, possesses a male heterogametic (XX/XY) sex-determining system. Owing to its notable sexual growth dimorphism, monosex cultivation of this species, particularly all-male populations, holds considerable commercial advantages, driving the need for precise sex control strategies. This study investigated the estrogen-induced feminization of C. argus via dietary administration of 17 beta-estradiol (E2) at graded doses (30, 60, and 90 mg/kg). All E2-treated groups successfully produced phenotypically XY neofemales (XY female), with sex reversal efficiencies of 19.2 %, 46.7 %, and 100.0 % for the 30, 60, and 90 mg/kg doses, respectively. Longitudinal assessments from 120 to 360 days post-fertilization (dpf) (corresponding to 105-345 days after treatment, dat) demonstrated that 90 mg/kg E2 induced complete and irreversible male-to-female sex reversal, with stable ovarian phenotypes persisting through sexual maturity. Transcriptional profiling of ovarian tissue in the 90 mg/kg E2-treated XY female revealed gene expression patterns indistinguishable from normal XX females (XX female), characterized by suppressed expression of male-related genes (Amh, Amhr2, Ar, Dmrt1, Gsdf, and Cyp17a) and elevated expression of female-related genes (Cyp19a1a, Figla, Foxl2, Er, Zp3, Bmp15). Additionally, YY super-males (YY male), generated by crossing XY female with normal XY males (XY male), displayed gonadal morphology and growth parameters (body weight and length) equivalent to XY male. Crosses between sexually mature YY male and XY female or XX female further confirmed the reproductive viability and genotypic stability of YY male. Integrated histological, molecular, and reproductive analyses confirmed that XY female developed reproductively competent ovaries capable of oogenesis and successful spawning, with their progeny demonstrating normal fertility. Collectively, this work establishes a reproducible protocol for producing all-male C. argus populations and provides valuable resources for elucidating the mechanisms of sex determination and differentiation in this species.