Differentiation of spermatogonial cells is a crucial part of spermatogenesis. Many of the key signalling pathways and molecules that are involved in spermatogonial differentiation have been identified, but their precise function at the cellular level as well as their downstream targets are not well understood. In this issue (p. 1502), Ming-Han Tong and colleagues address this with an in-depth look at the role of retinoic acid (RA) in spermatogonial differentiation. The authors specifically block retinoid signalling by introducing a dominant-negative mutant of RA receptor alpha (RARα) targeted to the spermatogonia of the transgenic mice. With this model, they show how a lack of RA signalling completely blocks spermatogonial differentiation in homozygous mice, which is due to the arrest of the undifferentiated cells in the G1/S phase. The authors then use RNA-Seq to probe for possible downstream targets of RA signalling in this context, and identify a role for replication-dependent core histone genes in promoting spermatogonia differentiation. These data make a significant contribution to our understanding of the mechanisms underlying spermatogonial differentiation, and the creation of a novel mouse mutant will be a valuable tool for the field.
Making inroads into spermatogonial differentiation
Making inroads into spermatogonial differentiation. Development 1 May 2016; 143 (9): e0901. doi:
Download citation file:
Advertisement
Cited by
Call for papers: Uncovering Developmental Diversity
Development invites you to submit your latest research to our upcoming special issue: Uncovering Developmental Diversity. This issue will be coordinated by our academic Editor Cassandra Extavour (Harvard University, USA) alongside two Guest Editors: Liam Dolan (Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology, Austria) and Karen Sears (University of California Los Angeles, USA).
Choose Development in 2024
In this Editorial, Development Editor-in-Chief James Briscoe and Executive Editor Katherine Brown explain how you support your community by publishing in Development and how the journal champions serious science, community connections and progressive publishing.
Journal Meeting: From Stem Cells to Human Development
Register now for the 2024 Development Journal Meeting From Stem Cells to Human Development. Early-bird registration deadline: 3 May. Abstract submission deadline: 21 June.
Pluripotency of a founding field: rebranding developmental biology
This collaborative Perspective, the result of a workshop held in 2023, proposes a set of community actions to increase the visibility of the developmental biology field. The authors make recommendations for new funding streams, frameworks for collaborations and mechanisms by which members of the community can promote themselves and their research.
Read & Publish Open Access publishing: what authors say
We have had great feedback from authors who have benefitted from our Read & Publish agreement with their institution and have been able to publish Open Access with us without paying an APC. Read what they had to say.