# Proteome analysis provides insights into sex differences in Holothuria Scabra

## TL;DR

This study uses proteomics to uncover sex-related proteins in the sea cucumber Holothuria scabra, revealing differences between male and female gonads.

## Contribution

The study identifies sex-specific and differentially abundant proteins in H. scabra gonads, providing new insights into their sex differences.

## Key findings

- 817 proteins were expressed in both ovary and testis, with distinct up- and down-regulation patterns.
- 136 ovary-specific and 69 testis-specific differentially abundant proteins were identified.
- Nine key genes coding for DAPs were validated using qRT-PCR, highlighting ribosome pathway involvement in the ovary.

## Abstract

Sex-determining mechanism is still ambiguous for sea cucumber Holothuria scabra which only manifests gonochorism in gonad. In this study, proteomic analysis was employed to delineate sex-related proteins and genes in gonads of H. scabra, subsequently validated through Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). A total of 5,313 proteins were identified via proteome sequencing. Among these, 817 proteins exhibited expression in both the ovary and testis, with 445 proteins displaying up-regulation and 372 proteins showing down-regulation (ovary vs testis). Furthermore, 136 and 69 proteins were identified as ovary-specific and testis-specific Differentially Abundant Proteins (DAPs), respectively. And 9 DAP coding genes which play crucial role in ovary and testis were verified by qRT-PCR. Notably, 24 ovary-bias proteins enriched in ribosome pathway strongly indicated the crucial role of ribosome in ovary. This study serves to furnish novel evidence pertaining to sex differences in H. scabra.