Expression profiling of sexually dimorphic genes in the Japanese quail, Coturnix japonica

Research on avian sex determination has focused on the chicken. In this study, we established the utility of another widely used animal model, the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica), for clarifying the molecular mechanisms underlying gonadal sex differentiation. In particular, we performed comprehensive gene expression profiling of embryonic gonads at three stages (HH27, HH31 and HH38) by mRNA-seq. We classified the expression patterns of 4,815 genes into nine clusters according to the extent of change between stages. Cluster 2 (characterized by an initial increase and steady levels thereafter), including 495 and 310 genes expressed in males and females, respectively, contained five key genes involved in gonadal sex differentiation. A GO analysis showed that genes in this cluster are related to developmental processes including reproductive structure development and developmental processes involved in reproduction were significant, suggesting that expression profiling is an effective approach to identify novel candidate genes. Based on RNA-seq data and in situ hybridization, the expression patterns and localization of most key genes for gonadal sex differentiation corresponded well to those of the chicken. Our results support the effectiveness of the Japanese quail as a model for studies gonadal sex differentiation in birds.