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Review

Nature Reviews Genetics 3, 790–801 (1 October 2002) | doi:10.1038/nrg911

Mouse models of male infertility

Howard J. Cooke & Philippa T. K. Saunders

Spermatogenesis is a complex process that involves stem-cell renewal, genome reorganization and genome repackaging, and that culminates in the production of motile gametes. Problems at all stages of spermatogenesis contribute to human infertility, but few of them can be modelled in vitro or in cell culture. Targeted mutagenesis in the mouse provides a powerful method to analyse these steps and has provided new insights into the origins of male infertility.