Natural sex reversal imparts permanent compositional changes to the swamp eel gonadal microbiome
Characterizing the microbial composition and distribution in the gonads is crucial for understanding the role of the reproductive microbiome in hermaphroditic species and during sex reversal. Our findings first indicate that ovarian-dominant bacterial communities contribute to maintaining ovarian function while inhibiting testicular function in swamp eel, further suggesting that microbial communities are involved in the process of sex reversal. Video Abstract.
Authors
- Joon Myong Song (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9896-5892)
- Kaifeng Meng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1318-4286)
- Yuanyuan Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9746-7309)
- Chaolin Jiang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3254-9503)
- Yifan Bai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-2749-5062)
- Daji Luo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8051-9624)
- Meidi Hu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6177-4606)
- Fei Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4404-0971)
- Yuanli Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-1786-6655)
- Xing Lin
Institutions
- Huazhong Agricultural University (CN)
- Institute of Hydrobiology (CN)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Ocean University of China (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Microbiome
- Published
- 2025-10-24
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-025-02187-7
- Primary Topic
- Sperm and Testicular Function
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province
- Huazhong Agricultural University
- Institute of Hydrobiology