Searching the Resource Information Network
As genetic information is transmitted through successive generations, it passes between pluripotent cells in the early embryo and germ cells in the developing foetus and adult animal. Tex19.1 encodes a protein of unknown function, whose expression is restricted to germ cells and pluripotent cells. During male spermatogenesis, Tex19.1 expression is highest in mitotic spermatogonia and diminishes as these cells differentiate and progress through meiosis. In pluripotent stem cells, Tex19.1 expression is also downregulated upon differentiation. However, it is not clear whether Tex19.1 has an essential function in germ cells or pluripotent stem cells, or what that function might be. To analyse the potential role of Tex19.1 in pluripotency or germ cell function we have generated Tex19.1(-/-) knockout mice and analysed the Tex19.1(-/-) mutant phenotype. Adult Tex19.1(-/-) knockout males exhibit impaired spermatogenesis. Immunostaining and histological analysis revealed defects in meiotic chromosome synapsis, the persistence of DNA double-strand breaks during meiosis, and a loss of post-meiotic germ cells in the testis. Furthermore, expression of a class of endogenous retroviruses is upregulated during meiosis in the Tex19.1(-/-) testes. Increased transposition of endogenous retroviruses in the germline of Tex19.1(-/-) mutant mice, and the concomitant increase in DNA damage, may be sufficient to disrupt the normal processes of recombination and chromosome synapsis during meiosis and cause defects in spermatogenesis. Our results suggest that Tex19.1 is part of a specialised mechanism that operates in the germline to repress transposable genetic elements and maintain genomic stability through successive generations.
Pubmed ID: 18802469
Publication data is provided by the National Library of Medicine ® and PubMed ®. Data is retrieved from PubMed ® on a weekly schedule. For terms and conditions see the National Library of Medicine Terms and Conditions.
Community model organism database for laboratory mouse and authoritative source for phenotype and functional annotations of mouse genes. MGD includes complete catalog of mouse genes and genome features with integrated access to genetic, genomic and phenotypic information, all serving to further the use of the mouse as a model system for studying human biology and disease. MGD is a major component of the Mouse Genome Informatics.Contains standardized descriptions of mouse phenotypes, associations between mouse models and human genetic diseases, extensive integration of DNA and protein sequence data, normalized representation of genome and genome variant information. Data are obtained and integrated via manual curation of the biomedical literature, direct contributions from individual investigators and downloads from major informatics resource centers. MGD collaborates with the bioinformatics community on the development and use of biomedical ontologies such as the Gene Ontology (GO) and the Mammalian Phenotype (MP) Ontology.
View all literature mentionsThe SciCrunch Infrastructure was developed as a cooperative data platform to be used by diverse communities in making data more FAIR.
scicrunch.org
