A test predicts the sex of the fish

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A test predicts the sex of the fish







A research led by the Institute of Marine Sciences, of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), has developed a test to predict the sex of fish based on the detection of epigenetic marks. These chemical labels are in the DNA and give information on how the genes have to be expressed. The results of the work, led by Francesc Piferrer, research professor at the Institute of Marine Sciences, have been published in the journal Epigenetics.



"The test allows predicting sex with a reliability close to 90% and may have applications in aquaculture and conservation biology," explains Piferrer. "In aquaculture production, it allows to determine the proportion of males and females in juveniles, which can help to select the best individuals and increase production. In conservation biology, the method would allow us to better understand the demography of wild populations, to improve their management and to know the reproductive capacity of threatened species, "he adds.



The development has been carried out using sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) as an experimental model. "The epigenetic marks had already been applied recently in determining the sex of a tree, the balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera), but this is the first time it has been applied to an animal," explains Piferrer. "The method is useful for the prediction of sex in seabass, as well as in other similar species, but it could possibly be applied to other vertebrate animals with the appropriate adaptations," says the researcher.







Sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax). (Photo: ICM)



The study, whose first author is Dafni Anastasiadi, postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Marine Sciences, and which has the participation of Núria Sánchez, doctoral candidate at the same center, has been carried out with samples obtained in the framework of the European project AQUAEXCEL, in the In addition to the CSIC researchers, French researchers from the French Research Institute for the Exploitation of the Sea (IFREMER) and the National Institute of Agronomic Research have taken part. As a result of the study, the CSIC has applied for a European patent for the potential applications of the method.



For the development of the test, scientists have started from one of the most known and important chemical modifications in epigenetics: the methylation of the cytosine in a cytosine-guanine dinucleotide in the DNA sequence.



The methylation marks of the cytosine-guanine dinucleotide are found throughout the genome, both in the genes and in the regions between the genes. The methylation of the cytosine acts as a binary system: it is or is not methylated. But in a gene there are many cytosine-guanine pairs, and it is the combination of methylated and non-methylated what the information offers, which is expressed in values ​​of between 0 and 100%. "Alterations in methylation levels of cytosine-guanine dinucleotides translate into permanent changes in the expression of affected genes," explains Piferrer.



The researchers selected seven genes related to the sexual development of sea bass and analyzed the methylation of the guanine-cytosine dinucleotides in these genes. The data obtained were introduced in an automatic learning model (machine learning) with which the information was obtained to determine the sex in these fish with 89% reliability.



"The identification of epigenetic marks are the subject of numerous investigations. For example, many cancer studies focus on the development of these types of brands, as they provide information not only for diagnosis but also for the prognosis of certain tumors before they manifest. Currently, there is a great interest in the development of epigenetic marks, both in agricultural sciences and for the management of natural resources, "concludes Piferrer. (Source: CSIC / DICYT)

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