PUBLICATION
Roles of Figla/figla in Juvenile Ovary Development and Follicle Formation during Zebrafish Gonadogenesis
- Authors
- Qin, M., Zhang, Z., Song, W., Wong, Q.W., Chen, W., Shirgaonkar, N., Ge, W.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-180906-10
- Date
- 2018
- Source
- Endocrinology 159(11): 3699-3722 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Chen, Weiting, Ge, Wei, Qin, Mingming, Wong, Queenie, Zhang, Zhiwei
- Keywords
- none
- MeSH Terms
-
- Animals
- Aromatase/genetics
- BRCA2 Protein/genetics
- Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors/genetics
- Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors/metabolism
- Estradiol/pharmacology
- Estrogens/pharmacology
- Fanconi Anemia Complementation Group L Protein/genetics
- Female
- Gene Expression Profiling
- Heat-Shock Proteins/metabolism
- Male
- Meiosis
- Mutation
- Oogenesis/drug effects
- Oogenesis/genetics*
- Organogenesis/drug effects
- Organogenesis/genetics*
- Ovarian Follicle/drug effects
- Ovarian Follicle/growth & development*
- Ovary/drug effects
- Ovary/growth & development*
- Phenotype
- Sex Determination Processes/genetics*
- Tumor Suppressor Protein p53/genetics
- Zebrafish
- Zebrafish Proteins/genetics*
- Zebrafish Proteins/metabolism
- PubMed
- 30184072 Full text @ Endocrinology
Citation
Qin, M., Zhang, Z., Song, W., Wong, Q.W., Chen, W., Shirgaonkar, N., Ge, W. (2018) Roles of Figla/figla in Juvenile Ovary Development and Follicle Formation during Zebrafish Gonadogenesis. Endocrinology. 159(11):3699-3722.
Abstract
Sex determination and differentiation are complex processes. As a juvenile hermaphrodite or undifferentiated gonochorist, zebrafish undergoes a special phase of juvenile ovary during sex differentiation, making it an excellent model for studying early oogenesis and folliculogenesis. In this study, we provided lines of evidence at morphological, molecular, and genetic levels for roles of Figla (Factor in the Germline Alpha), an oocyte-specific transcription factor, in early zebrafish gonadogenesis. As in mammals, Figla/figla was also expressed in the gonads and its expression in the ovary was also restricted to early oocytes. Disruption of figla gene by CRISPR/Cas9 led to all-male phenotype in the mutant. Detailed analysis of early gonadal development showed that the germ cells in the mutant were clustered in cysts and underwent meiosis, forming oocytes at pre-follicular chromatin nucleolar (CN) stage (stage IA). However, the subsequent transition from cystic CN oocytes to individual follicular perinucleolar (PN) oocytes (stage IB) was blocked, resulting in all-male phenotype of the mutant. The phenotype of figla could not be rescued by estrogen treatment, in contrast to cyp19a1a mutant, and introduction of tp53 mutation had no effect either, unlike fancd1 and fancl mutants. Transcriptome analysis revealed that a large number of biological processes and pathways related to germ cell development especially oogenesis were up-regulated in the presence of Figla, and that the regulation of figla expression may involve heat shock proteins. In conclusion, our results strongly suggest important roles for Figla in juvenile ovary development, especially the formation of individual follicles from cystic oocytes.
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping