Identification, expression, and function analysis of Rbpms2 splicing variants in Japanese flounder gonad

Rbpms2, an RNA-binding protein with multiple splicing (Rbpms), can interact with RNAs to involve oocyte development, thereby influencing female sex differentiation in vertebrates. Here, two splicing variants of the Rbpms2 gene from Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) were identified, namely Rbpms2.1 and Rbpms2.2. The two variants exhibited 98.22 % amino acid homology, both featuring an RNA recognition motif (RRM) domain spanning positions 98–170 amino acids. They were relatively conserved throughout phylogenetic evolution. Differently, the C-terminal region of the Rbpms2.1 contains five additional sequential amino acids (–VRDQP–) compared to Rbpms2.2. The real-time qPCR results demonstrated that Rbpms2.1 and Rbpms2.2 had relatively abundant expression in the gonads of adult Japanese flounder, with higher expression levels in the ovary compared to the testis (P < 0.05). In situ hybridization results showed strong positive expression of Rbpms2 mRNA in oocytes at stages I-III during the V stage of ovarian development. In the testis at stage IV, the expression of Rbpms2 mRNA was mainly concentrated on primary spermatocytes. Importantly, Rbpms2 binding sites were found in the 3′UTR, 5′UTR, and ORF regions of the sex-related genes including dmrt1, sox9, amh, foxl2, and wnt4. siRNA interference and overexpression analysis of Rbpms2.1 and Rbpms2.2 in primary cells of the ovary and testis showed that Rbpms2 can repress the expression of male-related genes (dmrt1, sox9, and amh) and significantly promote the expression of female-related genes (foxl2 and wnt4). Our results revealed that Rbpms2 may play a critical role by targeting the sex-related genes in the gonad development of Japanese flounder.