| Summary: | The doublesex and mab-3 related transcription factor (<i>DMRT</i>) gene family involvement in sex development is widely conserved from invertebrates to humans. In this study, we identified a DM (<i>Doublesex/Mab-3</i>)-domain gene in <i>Macrobrachium nipponense</i>, which we named <i>MniDMRT11E</i> because it has many similarities to and phylogenetically close relationships with the arthropod <i>DMRT11E</i>. Amino acid alignments and structural prediction uncovered conservation and putative active sites of the DM domain. Real-time PCR analysis showed that the <i>MniDMRT11E</i> was highly expressed in the ovary and testis in both males and females. Cellular localization analysis showed that <i>DMRT11E</i> was mainly located in the oocytes of the ovary and the spermatocyte of the testis. During embryogenesis, the expression level of <i>MniDMRT11E</i> was higher at the cleavage stage than at other stages. During the different stages of ovarian development, <i>MniDMRT11E</i> expression gradually increased from OI to OIII and decreased to the lowest level at the end of OIV. The results indicated that <i>MniDMRT11E</i> probably played important roles in embryonic development and sex maturity in <i>M. nipponense</i>. <i>MniDMRT11E</i> dsRNA injection also significantly reduced vitellogenin (<i>VG</i>) expression and significantly increased insulin-like androgenic gland factor (<i>IAG)</i> expression, indicating a close relationship in gonad development.
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