Robust gdf9 and bmp15 expression in the oocytes of ovotestes through the Figla-independent pathway in the hermaphroditic black porgy, Acanthopagrus schlegelii

More than 1,500 fish species are hermaphroditic, but no hermaphroditic lineage appears to be evolutionarily ancient in fishes. Thus, whether more than one sex at a time was present during the evolutionary shift from gonochorism to hermaphroditism in fishes is an intriguing question. Ectopic oocytes were created in the ovotestes of protandrous black porgy via the withdrawal of estradiol (E2) administration. These ectopic oocytes reprogrammed the surrounding cells, which changed from Sertoli cells to follicle-like cells. We observed that gdf9 and bmp15 expression was localized in the primary oocytes and gradually decreased after oocytes entered a secondary oocyte stage. Robust expression of gdf9 and bmp15 in ectopic oocytes was associated with the surrounding Sertoli cells. However, blocking Cyp19a1a activity and increasing androgen levels did not stimulate the expression of gdf9 and bmp15. Thus, the robust gdf9 and bmp15 expression was not related to the inappropriate male microenvironment. Furthermore, in vitro data demonstrated that gdf9 and bmp15 were not downstream genes of Figla signaling. Therefore, our results suggest that there are two independent mechanisms, a Figla-dependent pathway and a Figla-independent pathway, by which oocyte-surrounding cells are altered from a male somatic fate to a female somatic fate. This functional switch might clarify how oocytes created an appropriate microenvironment during the transition from the ancient gonochorism to the present hermaphroditism.