6533b7d8fe1ef96bd1269992

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Extensive nuclear gyration and pervasive non-genic transcription during primordial germ cell development in zebrafish.

Stefan RedlStefanie MöckelMaria Mendez-lagoWilli SalvenmoserRené F. KettingEdoardo CaspaniAntónio Miguel De Jesus Domingues

subject

endocrine systemRNA UntranslatedTranscription GeneticZygotePiwi-interacting RNApiRNABiology03 medical and health sciences0302 clinical medicineGyrationTranscription (biology)Primordial germ cellmedicineAnimalsRNA Small InterferingMolecular BiologyZebrafishGeneZebrafish030304 developmental biologyCell NucleusNuage0303 health sciencesGonadal ridgeurogenital systemNuclear morphologyGene Expression Regulation DevelopmentalDNA-Directed RNA PolymerasesZygotic activationZebrafish Proteinsbiology.organism_classificationChromatinCell biologyUp-Regulationmedicine.anatomical_structureGerm CellsGenetic Loci207FertilizationMutationIntergenic transcriptionDNA Transposable ElementsDNA Intergenic030217 neurology & neurosurgeryGerm cellBiogenesisDevelopmental BiologyResearch Article

description

ABSTRACT Primordial germ cells (PGCs) are the precursors of germ cells, which migrate to the genital ridge during early development. Relatively little is known about PGCs after their migration. We studied this post-migratory stage using microscopy and sequencing techniques, and found that many PGC-specific genes, including genes known to induce PGC fate in the mouse, are only activated several days after migration. At this same time point, PGC nuclei become extremely gyrated, displaying general broad opening of chromatin and high levels of intergenic transcription. This is accompanied by changes in nuage morphology, expression of large loci (PGC-expressed non-coding RNA loci, PERLs) that are enriched for retro-transposons and piRNAs, and a rise in piRNA biogenesis signatures. Interestingly, no nuclear Piwi protein could be detected at any time point, indicating that the zebrafish piRNA pathway is fully cytoplasmic. Our data show that the post-migratory stage of zebrafish PGCs holds many cues to both germ cell fate establishment and piRNA pathway activation.

yearjournalcountryeditionlanguage
2020-05-19Development (Cambridge, England)
10.1242/dev.193060https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33298460