{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,7]],"date-time":"2026-01-07T17:33:48Z","timestamp":1767807228651,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,7]],"date-time":"2026-01-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1767744000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"STI2030-Major Projects","award":["2023ZD0405503"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023ZD0405503"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100012166","name":"National Key Research and Development Program of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2022YFD2400401"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2022YFD2400401"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100012166","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Central Public-interest Scientific Institution Basal Research Fund, YSFRI, CAFS","award":["20603022024006"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["20603022024006"]}]},{"name":"Taishan Young Scholar Project of Shandong Province","award":["tsqn202211266"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["tsqn202211266"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100012453","name":"China Agriculture Research System","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["CARS-47-G03"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CARS-47-G03"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100012453","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Central Public-interest Scientific Institute Basal Research Fund, CAFS","award":["2023TD20"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023TD20"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Biomolecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Transforming growth factor \u03b2 (TGF-\u03b2) superfamily members are critical in teleost sex determination and differentiation. Tgfb2b is an important TGF-\u03b2 ligand gene exhibiting dominant expression in the ovary of Chinese tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis), yet its function in sex regulation remains unclear. In the present study, the gene expression pattern, transcriptional regulation, and knockdown effect were examined. Its expression persisted and showed a gradual increase throughout ovarian development from 3 months to 1.5 years post-hatching. In situ hybridization (ISH) revealed that the gene was distributed across oocytes at stages I\u2013III, while scarcely detectable in the testis. The transcriptional factors CCAAT\/enhancer binding protein \u03b1 (C\/EBP\u03b1) and Jun proto-oncogene AP-1 transcription factor subunit (c-Jun) could repress the activity of tgfb2b promoter. In vitro knockdown of tgfb2b in C. semilaevis ovarian cells led to downregulation of its downstream genes (e.g., smad1 and smad2) as well as other sex-related genes (e.g., foxl2 and esr2b). Moreover, multi-omics analysis indicated that, in C. semilaevis gonads, a miRNA named novel-m0083-3p showed an opposite expression pattern with tgfb2b and might have a binding site with the gene. By dual-luciferase assay, tgfb2b was validated to be directly targeted and suppressed by the miRNA. These results demonstrate that tgfb2b plays a significant role in ovarian differentiation and development. Further functional and molecular studies on the interplay between tgfb2b and the foxl2\u2013cyp19a\u2013esr axis will help elucidate the regulatory network underlying sex development in teleost.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/biom16010105","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,7]],"date-time":"2026-01-07T16:14:12Z","timestamp":1767802452000},"page":"105","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Identification and Functional Analysis of tgfb2b Gene in Ovarian Development of Chinese Tongue Sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis)"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2772-0908","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Xihong","family":"Li","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Mariculture Biobreeding and Sustainable Goods, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China"},{"name":"Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Qingdao Marine Science and Technology Center, Qingdao 266237, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Kaili","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Mariculture Biobreeding and Sustainable Goods, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yue","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Mariculture Biobreeding and Sustainable Goods, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Zhijie","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Mariculture Biobreeding and Sustainable Goods, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7626-5609","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zhangfan","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Mariculture Biobreeding and Sustainable Goods, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China"},{"name":"Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Qingdao Marine Science and Technology Center, Qingdao 266237, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1754-4018","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hongyan","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Mariculture Biobreeding and Sustainable Goods, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China"},{"name":"Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Qingdao Marine Science and Technology Center, Qingdao 266237, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Songlin","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Mariculture Biobreeding and Sustainable Goods, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China"},{"name":"Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Qingdao Marine Science and Technology Center, Qingdao 266237, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2135-090X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Na","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Mariculture Biobreeding and Sustainable Goods, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China"},{"name":"Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Qingdao Marine Science and Technology Center, Qingdao 266237, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"417","article-title":"The karyotype of the tonguefish Cynoglossus semilaevis","volume":"29","author":"Zhou","year":"2005","journal-title":"J. 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