Uncoupling of transcriptomic and cytological differentiation in mouse spermatocytes with impaired meiosis

• DOI: 10.1091/mbc.e18-10-0681
• Publication Date: 2019-01-16T17:44:12Z
• Authors: Alexander D. Fine; Robyn L. Ball; Yasuhiro Fujiwara; Mary Ann Handel; Gregory W. Carter
• Keywords: Male; 570; 0303 health sciences; Life Sciences; 610; Cell Differentiation; Articles; Histone-Lysine N-Methyltransferase; Models, Biological; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Meiosis; 03 medical and health sciences; Phenotype; Gene Expression Regulation; Spermatocytes; Mutation; Testis; Medicine and Health Sciences; Animals; RNA, Messenger; Transcriptome; JMG

Cell differentiation is driven by changes in gene expression that manifest as cellular phenotype or function. Altered phenotypes, stemming from genetic mutations other perturbations, are widely assumed to directly correspond the transcriptome and vice versa. Here, we exploited cytologically well-defined Prdm9 mutant mouse a model of developmental arrest test whether parallel programs tightly coordinated, can be disassociated. By comparing cytological markers transcriptomes wild-type spermatocytes, identified multiple instances molecular uncoupling –/– mutants. Most notably, although germ cells undergo late-leptotene/zygotene stage, they nevertheless develop signatures characteristic later substages. These findings suggest transcriptomic may not reliably map phenotypes developmentally perturbed systems.