Octopus minor is an important seafood species inhabiting Korean coastal mudflats and holds considerable industrial value. However, the restricted distribution of mudflats and increasing environmental pollution have highlighted the need for stock restoration and the development of superior strains. In this study, we analyzed the transcriptomic profiles of O. minor across sexes, tissues, and developmental stages to identify genes associated with sexual maturation. A de novo transcriptome assembly yielded 993,121 transcripts, and after redundancy removal and expression refinement, 40,688 transcripts were retained. Differential expression analysis identified 8,104 DEGs in females (gonad: 7,068; optic lobe: 1,036) and 5,285 in males (gonad: 4,765; optic lobe: 520). Gene expression changes related to sexual maturation were more pronounced in females and in gonadal tissues than in males and optic lobes. These findings provide essential genomic insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying sexual maturation and offer valuable resources for selective breeding and sustainable aquaculture of O. minor.

Introduction
Materials and Methods
    1. Sample Collection and RNA Extraction
    2. Library Construction and ReferenceTranscriptome Assembly
    3. Identification of O. minor-specificSexual Maturation Genes
    4. Gene Expression Patterns and DEGIdentification
Results
    1. Reference Transcriptome Construction
    2. Principal Component Analysis (PCA)of Expression Patterns
    3. Identification of Differentially ExpressedGenes (DEGs)
    4. Identification of Octopus-Specific SexualMaturation Genes
Discussion
Conclusion
Acknowledgments
참고문헌

• Duk-Young Kang(West Sea Fisheries Institute, National Institute of Fisheries Science, Incheon 22383, Republic of Korea)
• Jinik Hwang(West Sea Fisheries Institute, National Institute of Fisheries Science, Incheon 22383, Republic of Korea) Corresponding author