PUBLICATION

Early Depletion of Primordial Germ Cells in Zebrafish Promotes Testis Formation

Authors
Tzung, K.W., Goto, R., Saju, J.M., Sreenivasan, R., Saito, T., Arai, K., Yamaha, E., Hossain, M.S., Calvert, M.E., Orbán, L.
ID
ZDB-PUB-141202-8
Date
2015
Source
Stem Cell Reports   4(1): 61-73 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Saju, Jolly M., Sreenivasan, Rajini
Keywords
none
Datasets
GEO:GSE57046
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Cell Differentiation
  • Cell Proliferation
  • Cluster Analysis
  • Embryo, Nonmammalian
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Germ Cells/cytology*
  • Germ Cells/metabolism*
  • Gonads/cytology
  • Gonads/embryology*
  • Gonads/metabolism*
  • Larva
  • Male
  • Meiosis
  • Models, Biological
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Sex Characteristics
  • Sex Differentiation
  • Signal Transduction
  • Time Factors
  • Transcriptome
  • Transforming Growth Factor beta/metabolism
  • Zebrafish/embryology*
  • Zebrafish/genetics
  • Zebrafish/metabolism*
PubMed
25434820 Full text @ Stem Cell Reports
Abstract
As complete absence of germ cells leads to sterile males in zebrafish, we explored the relationship between primordial germ cell (PGC) number and sexual development. Our results revealed dimorphic proliferation of PGCs in the early zebrafish larvae, marking the beginning of sexual differentiation. We applied morpholino-based gene knockdown and cell transplantation strategies to demonstrate that a threshold number of PGCs is required for the stability of ovarian fate. Using histology and transcriptomic analyses, we determined that zebrafish gonads are in a meiotic ovarian stage at 14 days postfertilization and identified signaling pathways supporting meiotic oocyte differentiation and eventual female fate. The development of PGC-depleted gonads appears to be restrained and delayed, suggesting that PGC number may directly regulate the variability and length of gonadal transformation and testicular differentiation in zebrafish. We propose that gonadal transformation may function as a developmental buffering mechanism to ensure the reproductive outcome.
Errata / Notes
Erratum: Early Depletion of Primordial Germ Cells in Zebrafish Promotes Testis Formation
Genes / Markers
Figures
Show all Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping