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Excel · study · 2026

Functional Landscape of Zebrafish Gonadotropins and Receptors: A Comprehensive Genetic Analysis

Listed in NCBI GEO

In vertebrates, reproduction is primarily controlled by two master hormones, or gonadotropins, from the pituitary: follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH), which act through their cognate receptors, FSHR and LHCGR, in gonads.

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Like other vertebrates, zebrafish also has two gonadotropins and respective receptors. However, while zebrafish FSH activates Fshr specifically, its LH can activate both Fshr and Lhcgr, suggesting three signaling pathways – the canonical FSH-Fshr and LH-Lhcgr pathways, and a non-canonical LH-Fshr pathway.

To dissect functional roles of these pathways, we generated a series of zebrafish mutants lacking one, two, three, or all four genes encoding the two ligands and their receptors: fshb, lhb, fshr, and lhcgr. Single mutants confirmed the essential roles of FSH and LH in zebrafish reproduction. Double mutants demonstrated the functionality of all three pathways, especially the non-canonical LH-Fshr pathway, and highlighted the importance of Fshr in mediating both FSH and LH actions.

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Transcriptome analysis of double mutant follicles (infertile lhb-/-;lhcgr-/- with FSH-Fshr pathway and fertile fshb-/-;lhcgr-/- with LH-Fshr pathway) revealed potential molecular mechanisms underlying LH stimulation of oocyte maturation and ovulation via Fshr. Triple mutants revealed spontaneous, ligand-independent activities of Fshr and Lhcgr, in supporting spermatogenesis. The quadruple mutant (fshb-/-;lhb-/-;fshr-/-;lhcgr-/-) displayed an all-male phenotype with underdeveloped, infertile gonads primarily containing spermatogonia, suggesting a critical role for gonadotropins in gonadal differentiation and development.

This comprehensive genetic study provides insights into functional importance of gonadotropins in zebrafish reproduction and their signaling mechanisms.

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Life Sciences
Provenance · 1 source records, 7 field assertions
SourceKeyLast seenRaw
NCBI GEOGSE33469715 d agoJSON v1
FieldAssertionExtractorEvidence
access_levelsource · NCBI GEOconnector:ncbi_geo@1.0.0
concepts[field].local:field:life-sciencesmapping · NCBI GEOconnector:ncbi_geo@1.0.0
concepts[method].geo_series_type:expression-profiling-by-high-throughput-sequencingsource · NCBI GEOconnector:ncbi_geo@1.0.0/gdstype
concepts[organism].NCBITaxon:7955source · NCBI GEOconnector:ncbi_geo@1.0.0/taxon
descriptionsource · NCBI GEOconnector:ncbi_geo@1.0.0/summary
publication_datesource · NCBI GEOconnector:ncbi_geo@1.0.0
titlesource · NCBI GEOconnector:ncbi_geo@1.0.0/title