Abstract:
CBX2 (Chromobox homolog2), as a key member of the Polycomb Group protein (PcG) family, plays an important role in gonadal development. Mice lacking
cbx2 showed defects in gonads (both ovary and testis) development, and some mice have exhibited male-to-female sex reversal. But little is known about the function of
cbx2 in gonadal development of fish. In this study, we used
Oryzias latipes, a model organism, to investigate the expression of
cbx2 during embryonic and gonadal development by real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry. Real-time PCR results showed that
cbx2 was highly expressed in embryos at gastrula, neurula and organogenesis stages. In bisexual gonads,
cbx2 had a relatively high expression in testis. Immunohistochemistry results revealed that
cbx2 mRNA was mainly localized in spermatogonia and spermatocytes in testis. And
cbx2 was also predominately observed in oocytes at stages I, II and III in ovary. In order to further study the function of
cbx2, we used microinjection technology to knock out
cbx2. The results showed that the expression of
cbx2 was significantly decreased after injecting siRNA, and thus the expression of
sox9 (SRY-related HMG box 9) was down-regulated, whereas the expression of
foxl2 (Forkhead transcriptional factor 2) increased. This indicated that
cbx2 was not only involved in embryonic development but also played a role in gonadal differentiation and gametogenesis in
O. latipes.