In Nile tilapia, males have growth advantage due to the higher efficiency of converting food to energy.
In the present study, fast growth rate of males in this species was confirmed.
To the best of our knowledge,this is the first study indicating that an epigenetic mechanism
such as GH methylation in the pituitary of Nile tilapia which related to gene expression and growth phenotype.
It is plausible that the sexual morphology difference also is affected by DNA methylation.
In furtherstudy, it should be seen if the epigenetic events are conserved in different species of teleosts.