A novel Dmrt gene is specifically expressed in the testis of Chinese mitten crab, Eriocheir sinensis.

Dmrt is a family of genes related to the sexual regulators Doublesex of Drosophila melanogaster and Mab-3 of Caenorhabditis elegans. Dmrt genes are widely conserved and known for their involvement in sex determination and differentiation across phyla. In this study, we report here the identification of a novel Dmrt gene, named EsDmrt-like, from Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis. EsDmrt-like encodes a protein of 236 amino acids without intron. The protein contains a conserved DNA-binding DM domain that is characteristic of Dmrt genes. The DM domain shares 98% identity with that of Drosophila Dmrt99B and vertebrate Dmrt5, but outside the DM domain, there is little homology in sequence and no other conserved domain such as DMA specific to the Dmrt99B and Dmrt3-5. Interestingly, the expression pattern of EsDmrt-like is quite similar with that of vertebrate Dmrt1. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction showed that EsDmrt-like transcripts were detectable only in testis with much higher expression at immature stage. In situ hybridization to gonad sections indicated that the EsDmrt-like mRNA was exclusively localized in Sertoli cells around the periphery of seminiferous tubules and developing germ cells including spermatogonium, spermatocyte, and spermatid, but absent in spermatozoa. This finding strongly suggests an essential role for EsDmrt-like in the male testicular development/differentiation of the crab.