Comprehensive Analysis of YTH Domain-Containing Genes, Encoding m 6 A Reader and Their Response to Temperature Stresses and Yersinia ruckeri Infection in Rainbow Trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ).

genes are important readers of -methyladenosine (mA) modifications with ability to directly affect the fates of distinct RNAs in organisms. Despite their importance, little is known about genes in teleosts until now. In the present study, a total of 10 genes have been systematically identified and functionally characterized in rainbow trout (). According to the phylogenetic tree, gene structure and syntenic analysis, these genes could be classified into three evolutionary subclades, including YTHDF, YTHDC1 and YTHDC2. Of them, the copy number of , , , and were duplicated or even triplicated in rainbow trout due to the salmonid-specific whole-genome duplication event. The three-dimensional protein structure analysis revealed that there were similar structures and the same amino acid residues that were associated with cage formation between humans and rainbow trout, implying their similar manners in binding to mA modification. Additionally, the results of qPCR experiment indicated that the expression patterns of a few genes, especially , and , were significantly different in liver tissue of rainbow trout under four different temperatures (7 °C, 11 °C, 15 °C, and 19 °C). The expression levels of , and were obviously repressed in spleen tissue of rainbow trout at 24 h after infection, while increased expression was detected in . This study provides a systemic overview of genes in rainbow trout and reveals their biological roles in responses to temperature stress and bacterial infection.