Tdrd12 Is Essential for Germ Cell Development and Maintenance in Zebrafish

作者：Xiangyan Dai, Yuqin Shu, Qiyong Lou, Qiang Tian, Gang Zhai, Jia Song, Suxiang Lu, Hong Yu, Jiangyan He, Zhan Yin · 发表于：International Journal of Molecular Sciences · 年份：2017 · DOI：10.3390/ijms18061127 · 被引用次数：27 · 研究领域：Genetic and Clinical Aspects of Sex Determination and Chromosomal Abnormalities、Chromosomal and Genetic Variations、Animal Genetics and Reproduction

The regularity of Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) biogenesis is crucial to germline development. Functioning as Piwi-interacting proteins, Tudor domain-related proteins (Tdrds) have been demonstrated to be involved in spermatogenesis and the piRNA pathway. In this study, zebrafish tdrd12 was identified, and the maternal and germ cell-specific expression patterns of zebrafish tdrd12 were observed. Utilizing TALEN (transcription activator-like effector nuclease) techniques, two independent tdrd12 mutant zebrafish lines were generated. Although no defects were found during the generation of the primordial germ cells (PGCs) in the tdrd12-null fish progenies obtained from the heterozygous tdrd12 mutant parents, all Tdrd12-deficient fish developed into infertile males. The reduced numbers and eventually loss of the germ cells by 35 days post fertilization (dpf) led to masculinization and infertility of the Tdrd12-deficient fish. Meiosis defects of the germ cells in the tdrd12 mutants during the gonad-transitioning period were observed, revealing the indispensable functions of Tdrd12 in gametogenesis. Our studies demonstrated that zebrafish Tdrd12 is essential for germ cell development and maintenance.