mRNA-seq of gonads from adult zebrafish treated with aromatase inhibitor and control

To explore the transcriptional effects of aromatase inhibitors on sex differentiation of zebrafish, we exposed 3-month-old zebrafish (AB strain) to the third generation aromatase inhibitor Exemestane (CAS: 107868-30-4) and characterized transcript abundance among testes and ovaries after 32 days of drug exposure. After the drug treatment, we dissected zebrafish gonads, isolated polyA+ RNA and performed high-throughput RNA-Seq analysis. Overall design: We performed RNA-Seq analysis on 16 gonad samples in 2 biological replicates with 8 samples each. Eight samples of each replicate included two sexes (female and male) in four different treatments: (1) 50ug/L Exemestane, (2) 100ug/L Exemestane, (3) 200ug/L Exemestane, (4) control. Replicates were performed simultaneously. Each sample was from gonads of one individual. Gonads were dissected from adult zebrafish with clearly identified sex after 32 days of drug exposure. We isolated total RNA from the samples, purified polyA+ mRNA, and generated stranded pair-end mRNA libraries.