Apostichopus japonicus, a type of sea cucumber, is a crucial aquaculture species in China because of its great nutritional and therapeutic value. When enhancing the breeding effectiveness of animals that are significant to the economy, gender is always taken into account as a component that affects the physiology of organisms. The protein expression profiles of A. japonicus's gonads and tube feet were significantly different, with gonads exhibiting more overt gender differences than tube feet.

Additionally, the results showed that male A. japonicus had more specialised functions, the majority of which were connected to energy use. Additional research revealed that the ability of tyrosine synthesis, virus immunity, and the regulation of ERK activity may all be stronger in male and female A. japonicus, respectively. Additionally identified as prospective targets for A. japonicus gender identification were a few candidate proteins. Overall, our research adds to our understanding of the molecular processes that underlie the physiological differences in A. japonicus that are based on gender.

The objective of the current study was to identify gender differences in the gonads and tube feet of the sea cucumber A. japonicus. As far as we are aware, this is the first proteomics work to examine the variations between the protein expression profiles of the external organs of male and female A. japonicus. The investigation showed that both the protein expression profiles of the gonads and the tube feet of A. japonicus differed according to gender, and the gonad differences were rather pronounced.

The information supplied here will aid in the careful breeding of A. japonicus and increase researchers' understanding of the molecular mechanisms behind gender-based variations in this species

Jessica Aaron

Journal Coordinator

Journal of Systems Biology & Proteome Research