PUBLICATION
High temperature induces reproductive dysfunction in male zebrafish via DNA methylation-mediated tssk6 downregulation
- Authors
- Ma, X., Liu, R., Ren, Z., Qi, Y., Wei, D., Shi, J., Samra, ., Yuan, C., Huang, D.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-250713-1
- Date
- 2025
- Source
- Ecotoxicology and environmental safety 302: 118650118650 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Keywords
- DNA methylation, High temperature, Reproduction, Tssk6, Zebrafish
- MeSH Terms
-
- Animals
- DNA Methylation*
- Down-Regulation
- Hot Temperature*/adverse effects
- Male
- Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases*/genetics
- Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases*/metabolism
- Reproduction
- Spermatozoa
- Testis
- Zebrafish*/physiology
- Zebrafish Proteins*/genetics
- Zebrafish Proteins*/metabolism
- PubMed
- 40644780 Full text @ Ecotoxicol. Environ. Saf.
Citation
Ma, X., Liu, R., Ren, Z., Qi, Y., Wei, D., Shi, J., Samra, ., Yuan, C., Huang, D. (2025) High temperature induces reproductive dysfunction in male zebrafish via DNA methylation-mediated tssk6 downregulation. Ecotoxicology and environmental safety. 302:118650118650.
Abstract
High temperature (HT) poses a significant threat to aquatic organisms, yet the molecular mechanisms underlying HT-induced reproductive impairment in fish remain unclear. In this study, we demonstrated that both short-term (< 21 days) and long-term (> 120 days) exposure to HT (33℃) induced reproductive dysfunction in male zebrafish, including reduced fertilization rates, impaired sperm quality, inhibited testicular development, and increased offspring mortality. Transcriptome analyses showed that short-term HT exposure primarily disrupted testicular energy metabolism, whereas long-term exposure impaired sperm-egg recognition and binding. By analyzing differentially expressed genes involve in reproductive processes, we detected a significant downregulation of testis-specific serine kinase 6 (tssk6) in zebrafish testis under HT conditions. Notably, injection of tssk6-mRNA partially restored the HT-induced reduction in sperm quality. Further investigation revealed that long-term HT increased DNA methylation in the tssk6 promoter region, thereby inhibiting its expression, suggesting tssk6 as a potential biomarker for reproductive health. These findings establish an epigenetic mechanistic link between environmental HT and reproductive function in aquatic organisms.
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping