Retinoic acid (RA) signaling is critical for spermatogonial differentiation, which is a key step for spermatogenesis. We explored the mechanisms underlying spermatogonial differentiation by targeting expression of a dominant-negative mutant of RA receptor α (RARα) specifically to the germ cells of transgenic mice to subvert the activity of endogenous receptors. Here we show that (i) inhibition of retinoid signaling in germ cells completely blocked spermatogonial differentiation identical to vitamin A-deficient (VAD) mice; (ii) the blockage of spermatogonial differentiation by impaired retinoid signaling resulted from an arrest of entry of the undifferentiated spermatogonia into S phase; and (iii) retinoid signaling regulated spermatogonial differentiation through controlling expression of its direct target genes including replication-dependent core histone genes. Altogether, our results demonstrate that the action of retinoid signaling on spermatogonial differentiation in vivo is direct through spermatogonia self, and provide the first evidence that this is mediated by regulation of expression of replication-dependent core histone genes.
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.
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