A male-pheromone-elevated transcription factor ZNF362.1 in female schistosomes determines sexual maturation
- Mengjie Gu
- Wenjun Cheng
- Shan Li
- Gongwen Chen
- Xu Chen
- Ruiqi Jiang
- Minwei Yuan
- Jing Wang
- Wei Zhang
- Cun Yi
- Yuxiang Xie
- Xiaoling Wang
- Wei Hu
- Jipeng Wang
2026-03-06
Egg production by female schistosomes drives both transmission and pathology of schistosomiasis, affecting over 200 million people. Female maturation relies on the male-derived pheromone β-alanyl-tryptamine (BATT), but underlying molecular mechanisms are unclear. We identified the BATT-responsive transcription factor gene znf362 as a key regulator of female reproductive development. Functional studies showed that znf362.1 , but not znf362.2 , is essential for BATT-induced ovary and vitellaria maturation. Single-cell transcriptomics and in situ hybridization revealed up-regulation of znf362.1 in oocytes and vitellaria S 1 cells after BATT exposure. Multiomics analysis showed ZNF362.1 directly activates Smp_349410 , a female gonad-specific gene encoding a CPEB1 homolog. Loss of znf362.1 or Smp_349410 impaired oocyte and vitellocyte differentiation without affecting progenitors. Mechanistically, Sm CPEB1 promotes female ovary development by regulating polyadenylation of cyclin B1 mRNA and drives S 1 cell differentiation in the vitellaria. These findings define a transcriptional and post-transcriptional axis, BATT- znf362.1 - cpeb1 , that initiates female sexual maturation, offering mechanistic insight into schistosome reproduction and potential targets for schistosomiasis control.