The transcriptional landscape underlying larval development and metamorphosis in the Malabar grouper (Epinephelus malabaricus)

The transcriptional landscape underlying larval development and metamorphosis in the Malabar grouper (Epinephelus malabaricus) | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article The transcriptional landscape underlying larval development and metamorphosis in the Malabar grouper ( Epinephelus malabaricus ) Roger Huerlimann, Natacha Roux, Ken Maeda, Polina Pilieva, Saori Miura, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3155248/v3 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 3 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Abstract Most teleost fishes exhibit a biphasic life history with a larval oceanic phase that is transformed into morphologically and physiologically different demersal, benthic or pelagic juveniles. This process of transformation is characterized by a myriad of hormone induced changes, during the often abrupt transition between larval and juvenile phases called metamorphosis. Thyroid hormones (TH) are known to be instrumental for triggering and coordinating this transformation but other hormonal systems such as corticoids, might be also involved as it is the case in amphibians. In order to investigate the potential involvement of these two hormonal pathways in marine fish post-embryonic development, we used the Malabar grouper ( Epinephelus malabaricus ) as a model system. We assembled a chromosome-scale genome sequence and conducted a transcriptomic analysis of nine larval developmental stages. We studied the expression patterns of genes involved in TH and corticoid pathways, as well as four biological processes known to be regulated by TH in other teleost species: ossification, pigmentation, visual perception, and metabolism. Surprisingly, we observed an activation of many of the same pathways involved in metamorphosis also at an early stage of the larval development, suggesting an additional implication of these pathways in the formation of early larval features. Overall, our data brings new evidence to the controversial interplay between corticoids and thyroid hormones during metamorphosis as well as, surprisingly, during the early larval development. Further experiments will be needed to investigate the precise role of both pathways during these two distinct periods and whether an early activation of both corticoid and thyroid hormone pathways occur in other teleost species. Biological sciences/Developmental biology Biological sciences/Molecular biology/Transcriptomics Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Supplementary Files SupplementaryMaterial.pdf Supplementary Material SupplementaryData.xlsx Supplementary Data Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 3 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-3155248","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":256833421,"identity":"96e21bf4-9b42-4939-b32c-62e349a3cfd2","order_by":0,"name":"Roger Huerlimann","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABAUlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYPCCA0DM3AAiGfgZGBuAFBsxWhghWiQbgFoOEKsFzDQ4AOXjAubt7RcfVzDcSeyXPth46EbNnTzj483Nnz8w8OXh0iJz5kyx4RmGZ4kz+xIbDucce1ZsduZgmwTQYcW4tEhI5KRJNjAcTtxwhhGohe1w4rYbiW0gvyQ24NaS/hOkZT9Yy7/DiZtnJDZ/wK8l/Rgj2BYeoJbcNiBDIrFBAq8WnjPMkg0Gh41ngGzJ7TucOAPklzMGePzC3v7wY0PFYdn+HubDn3O+HU7sb29//KGi4hjOEGNg4DEAxgWGqMGxBNxa2B9gFa7Bo2UUjIJRMApGGAAAkBxnCe3U3gwAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Roger","middleName":"","lastName":"Huerlimann","suffix":""},{"id":256833422,"identity":"b2e31f67-bde1-4ed6-86bd-c988105a49ef","order_by":1,"name":"Natacha Roux","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Natacha","middleName":"","lastName":"Roux","suffix":""},{"id":256833423,"identity":"ea59707c-eefa-4f0a-b7bb-bedc674d7ffd","order_by":2,"name":"Ken Maeda","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3631-811X","institution":"Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ken","middleName":"","lastName":"Maeda","suffix":""},{"id":256833424,"identity":"54d34bea-96b0-448d-818b-2410fbca3e9f","order_by":3,"name":"Polina Pilieva","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Polina","middleName":"","lastName":"Pilieva","suffix":""},{"id":256833425,"identity":"7d0f9846-9203-4672-9904-72066bc98457","order_by":4,"name":"Saori Miura","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Saori","middleName":"","lastName":"Miura","suffix":""},{"id":301693695,"identity":"38636c80-15d7-4253-a0a7-819e060f3e6c","order_by":5,"name":"Hsiao-chian Chen","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hsiao-chian","middleName":"","lastName":"Chen","suffix":""},{"id":256833426,"identity":"d093dc77-1b42-4f1d-a941-a2aaf2646da5","order_by":6,"name":"Michael Izumiyama","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Michael","middleName":"","lastName":"Izumiyama","suffix":""},{"id":256833427,"identity":"bd9238a9-e32e-40f5-b3cb-5d0578b8de6d","order_by":7,"name":"Vincent Laudet","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Marine Eco-Evo-Devo Unit. 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