Fig. 4

qPCR results for genes differentially expressed in the microarray during the onset of puberty in the European sea bass. Genes were selected according to their relevance in different reproductive events. a Genes involved in cell proliferation and cell cycle progression; proliferating cell nuclear antigen (pcna), centromere protein I (cenpi), spindle pole body component 25 (spc25), centromere protein f (cenpf), thyroid hormone receptor interactor 13 (trip13), and cdc28 protein kinase (cdc28). b Genes involved in reproduction and growth; antimüllerian hormone (amh), aquaporin 1 (aqp1), secretogranin II (sgII), agouti-related protein 2 (agrp2), insulin-like growth factor binding protein 6 (igfbp6). c Genes involved in the RA signalling pathway: RA-metabolizing enzyme cytochrome P450 26a1 (cyp26a1), retinol binding protein 4 (rbp4), RA-binding protein (crabp1). This group also includes three RA-nuclear receptors, RA receptor alpha (rarα), retinoid X receptor alpha (rxrα), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (pparγ) due to their relevance in this pathway. The stage-specific expression levels were normalized to those of the constitutively expressed 18S rRNA gene in each sample. Expression data are shown as mean normalized expression + SEM. Y-axis is represented in logarithmic scale for easier visualization. For each gene, bars on the left (blue) correspond to stage I testes and bars on the right (red) to stage II testes