PUBLICATION
Germ cell progression through zebrafish spermatogenesis declines with age
- Authors
- Sposato, A.L., Hollins, H.L., Llewellyn, D.R., Weber, J.M., Schrock, M.N., Farrell, J.A., Gagnon, J.A.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-241030-2
- Date
- 2024
- Source
- Development (Cambridge, England) 151(22): (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Farrell, Jeffrey, Gagnon, James, Sposato, Andrea, Weber, Jenna
- Keywords
- Aging, Immune cells, Male fertility, Single-cell RNA sequencing, Spermatogenesis, Testis
- Datasets
- GEO:GSE275361
- MeSH Terms
-
- Aging*/physiology
- Animals
- Germ Cells/cytology
- Germ Cells/metabolism
- Male
- Single-Cell Analysis
- Spermatocytes/cytology
- Spermatocytes/metabolism
- Spermatogenesis*/genetics
- Spermatogenesis*/physiology
- Spermatogonia*/cytology
- Spermatogonia*/metabolism
- Testis*
- Zebrafish*
- PubMed
- 39470160 Full text @ Development
Citation
Sposato, A.L., Hollins, H.L., Llewellyn, D.R., Weber, J.M., Schrock, M.N., Farrell, J.A., Gagnon, J.A. (2024) Germ cell progression through zebrafish spermatogenesis declines with age. Development (Cambridge, England). 151(22):.
Abstract
Vertebrate spermatogonial stem cells maintain sperm production over the lifetime of an animal but fertility declines with age. While morphological studies have informed our understanding of typical spermatogenesis, the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the maintenance and decline of spermatogenesis are not yet understood. We used single-cell RNA sequencing to generate a developmental atlas of the aging zebrafish testis. All testes contained spermatogonia, but we observed a progressive decline in spermatogenesis that correlates with age. Testes from some older males only contained spermatogonia and a reduced population of spermatocytes. Spermatogonia in older males are transcriptionally distinct from spermatogonia in testes capable of robust spermatogenesis. Immune cells including macrophages and lymphocytes drastically increase in abundance in testes that cannot complete spermatogenesis. Our developmental atlas reveals the cellular changes as the testis ages and defines a molecular roadmap for the regulation of spermatogenesis.
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping