Germline development articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    In neonatal testes, prospermatogonia generate both spermatogonia for the first wave of spermatogenesis and spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) for maintenance of spermatogenesis in males. Here the authors characterize the development of mouse SSCs from prospermatogonia using single-cell RNA-seq and transplantation assays.

    • Nathan C. Law
    • , Melissa J. Oatley
    •  & Jon M. Oatley

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Substitution of lysine 27 with methionine in histone H3.3 (H3.3K27M) is a driver mutation of pediatric high-grade gliomas. Here the authors show that H3.3K27M-mediated alterations in H3K27me3 distribution result in ectopic DNA replication and cell cycle progression of germ cells in Caenorhabditis elegans, through JNK pathway misregulation.

    • Kamila Delaney
    • , Maude Strobino
    •  & Florian A. Steiner

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The transcriptional regulation of murine spermatogenesis is not well understood. Here, the authors use single-cell and bulk RNA-Sequencing of juvenile and adult mice to characterise somatic and germ cell development, and chromatin profile the X chromosome to show that spermatid-specific genes are repressed by H3K9me3 during meiosis.

    • Christina Ernst
    • , Nils Eling
    •  & Duncan T. Odom

  • Article
    | Open Access

    How Nodal and Bmp pathways interact during primordial germ cell (PGC) formation remains unclear. Here, the authors show Nodal signalling via Eomes in the epiblast, together with Smad2 in the visceral endoderm, regulates formation of the mouse PGC lineage, while Smad1 specifies PGCs and Smad4 controls PGC migration.

    • Anna D. Senft
    • , Elizabeth K. Bikoff
    •  & Ita Costello

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Human embryonic stem cells can be differentiated in vitro into primordial germ cell-like cells (PGCLCs) that resemble early primordial germ cells (PGCs). Here the authors transplant PGCLCs generated from rhesus macaque iPSCs into mouse and rhesus macaque seminiferous tubules, which matures these into late PGCs and spermatogonia-like cells.

    • Enrique Sosa
    • , Di Chen
    •  & Amander T. Clark

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Paternal contributions to epigenetic inheritance via nucleosomes are poorly understood, as sperm in many organisms replace the majority of nucleosomes with protamines. Here the authors provide evidence that Caenorhabditis elegans sperm retain histone packaging of the genome and provide a histone-based epigenetic memory that is important for germ cell development in offspring.

    • Tomoko M. Tabuchi
    • , Andreas Rechtsteiner
    •  & Susan Strome

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Epigenetic regulation is critical for the maintenance of germ cell identity. Here the authors show that H3K9me3-mediated gene silencing is critical for repression of testis-specific transcription in Drosophila female germ cells, indicating H3K9me3 maintains female germ cell sexual identity.

    • Anne E. Smolko
    • , Laura Shapiro-Kulnane
    •  & Helen K. Salz

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Otefin is a nuclear lamina protein required for survival of Drosophila germ stem cells. Here the authors show that nuclear lamina dysfunction resulting from loss of Otefin activates a DNA damage-independent germ stem cell-specific checkpoint, mediated by the ATR and Chk2 kinases, which ensures that healthy gametes are passed on to the next generation.

    • Lacy J. Barton
    • , Tingting Duan
    •  & Pamela K. Geyer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    De novo DNA methylation during mouse oogenesis occurs within transcribed regions. Here the authors investigate the role of species-specific long terminal repeats (LTRs)-initiated transcription units in regulating the oocyte methylome, identifying syntenic regions in mouse, rat and human with divergent DNA methylation associated with private LITs.

    • Julie Brind’Amour
    • , Hisato Kobayashi
    •  & Matthew C. Lorincz

  • Article
    | Open Access

    ATR kinase is required for meiosis in non-mammalian model organisms. Here the authors demonstrate, using a tissue-specific knockout approach, that ATR is also essential for male meiosis in mouse, regulating meiotic recombination and synapsis.

    • Alexander Widger
    • , Shantha K. Mahadevaiah
    •  & James M.A. Turner

  • Article
    | Open Access

    ATR kinase is required for meiosis in non-mammalian model organisms. Here the authors demonstrate, using a hypomorphic Atr mutation and chemical inhibition, that ATR is also essential for male meiosis in mouse, regulating meiotic recombination and synapsis.

    • Sarai Pacheco
    • , Andros Maldonado-Linares
    •  & Ignasi Roig

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The two zygote centrioles are paternally inherited; however, their development is incompletely understood. Here, the authors show that the distal centriole is remodeled into an atypical centriole which functions as the zygote’s second centriole.

    • Emily L. Fishman
    • , Kyoung Jo
    •  & Tomer Avidor-Reiss

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In mammalian female germ cells, parent-specific epigenetic marks are erased and the X chromosome reactivated before entry into meiosis. Here, by combining parental haplotype reconstruction with single-cell transcriptomics of human female embryonic germ cells, the authors demonstrate that epigenetic reprogramming occurs in a heterogeneous fashion and during a broad time window up to week 14.

    • Ábel Vértesy
    • , Wibowo Arindrarto
    •  & Susana M. Chuva de Sousa Lopes

  • Article
    | Open Access

    During meiosis, step-wise release of sister chromatid cohesion mediated by REC-8 cohesin is required for the formation of haploid gametes. Here, the authors show that in C. elegans oocytes, regulated recruitment of Aurora B kinase ensures the correct distribution of REC-8 phosphorylation, which promotes cohesion release.

    • Nuria Ferrandiz
    • , Consuelo Barroso
    •  & Enrique Martinez-Perez

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Rbfox1, a pro-survival RNA-binding protein, is expressed in a complex manner and mediates diverse developmental processes. Here, the authors observe alternative splicing of Rbfox1 and stress-dependent regulation by miR-980 in Drosophila ovaries and Rbfox1 localisation in ribonucleoprotein granules in human cells.

    • Mariya M. Kucherenko
    •  & Halyna R. Shcherbata

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Pachytene piRNAs are abundant piRNAs in mammalian adult testes but their biogenesis pathway is not fully understood. Here, the authors identify TDRD5 as a piRNA biogenesis factor in mice, showing that it binds piRNA precursors and promotes pachytene piRNA production from specific transcript regions.

    • Deqiang Ding
    • , Jiali Liu
    •  & Chen Chen

  • Review Article
    | Open Access

    Transposable elements can be activated during germ cell maturation, potentially leading to genome instability and rewiring of the genetic circuitry. In this review, the authors discuss how the piRNA machinery suppresses these elements to ensure accurate spermatogenesis.

    • Christina Ernst
    • , Duncan T. Odom
    •  & Claudia Kutter

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Stable intronic sequence RNAs (sisRNAs) are by-products of splicing from introns with roles in embryonic development in Drosophila. Here, the authors show that the RNA binding protein DIP1 regulates sisRNAs in Drosophila, which is necessary for germline stem cell homeostasis.

    • Jing Ting Wong
    • , Farzanah Akhbar
    •  & Jun Wei Pek

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Although phagocytic clearance of apoptotic germ cells by Sertoli cells is essential for spermatogenesis, little of the mechanism is known. Here the authors show that Sertoli cells employ LC3-associated phagocytosis (LAP) by recruiting autophagy member proteins to clear apoptotic germ cells.

    • Subbarayalu Panneerdoss
    • , Suryavathi Viswanadhapalli
    •  & Manjeet K. Rao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Stress granules (SG) comprise aggregates of cellular messenger ribonucleoproteins (mRNPs) but how they form is unclear. Here, the authors identify NEDD4, an E3 ubiquitin ligase, as regulating the RNA binding protein NANOS2 and turnover of mRNP components, and so SG disassembly in spermatogonial stem cells.

    • Zhi Zhou
    • , Hiroshi Kawabe
    •  & Yumiko Saga

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Across species there are large changes in sperm morphology, yet how and why is unclear. Here, the authors show in Peromyscus mice, that the sperm midpiece length influences swimming speed and male fertility, and is regulated by cell-type specific expression of a ubiquitously expressed gene, Prkar1a.

    • Heidi S. Fisher
    • , Emily Jacobs-Palmer
    •  & Hopi E. Hoekstra

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The synaptonemal complex is a meiosis-specific proteinaceous structure that supports homologous chromosome pairs during meiosis. Here, the authors show that SIX6OS1 (of previously unknown function) is part of the synaptonemal complex central element and upon deletion in mice, causes defective chromosome synapsis and infertility.

    • Laura Gómez-H
    • , Natalia Felipe-Medina
    •  & Alberto M. Pendas

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The evolution of germ cell specification by maternal germ plasm has been proposed to accelerate vertebrate protein evolution by liberating selective constraints. Whittle and Extavour analyse global rates of protein evolution and find no support for this hypothesis in vertebrates or invertebrates.

    • Carrie A. Whittle
    •  & Cassandra G. Extavour

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The gut microbiota can play various roles in the host's physiology, but is not known to influence the germ line. Here, Elgart et al. show that certain extracellular gut bacteria can affect oogenesis and embryo development in the fruit fly.

    • Michael Elgart
    • , Shay Stern
    •  & Yoav Soen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Sperm from aging males may decline in quality, but it is unclear how aging affects the ability of males to produce successful offspring. Here, the authors show that paternal aging of captive long-lived houbara bustards reduces both the likelihood that eggs hatch and the rate at which chicks grow.

    • Brian T. Preston
    • , Michel Saint Jalme
    •  & Gabriele Sorci

  • Article |

    As the fertility of pre-pubertal male patients undergoing chemotherapy cannot be preserved using semen cryopreservation, alternative approaches are needed. Here the authors generate live mouse offspring via assisted reproduction technologies, using round spermatids or sperm derived from neonatal mouse cryopreserved testis tissues.

    • Tetsuhiro Yokonishi
    • , Takuya Sato
    •  & Takehiko Ogawa

  • Article |

    Somatic histones are replaced with sperm-specific basic proteins, called protamines, during the chromatin remodelling phase of spermatogenesis. Here, the authors show that the chromatin remodelling protein Chd5 is required for histone-to-protamine replacement during spermatogenesis in mice.

    • Wangzhi Li
    • , Jie Wu
    •  & Alea A. Mills

  • Article |

    Changes in DNA methylation during mammalian spermatogenesis are poorly understood. The authors show that the content of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine, a stable intermediate of DNA demethylation, changes dynamically during mouse spermatogenesis and is associated with functional genomic regions and transcription.

    • Haiyun Gan
    • , Lu Wen
    •  & Fuchou Tang

  • Article |

    The temporal opening and closing of cell–cell junctions at the blood–testis barrier allows the passage of immature germ cells during spermatogenesis. Su and colleagues identify a peptide fragment of the laminin-γ3 chain that disrupts the blood–testis barrier and reversibly impairs spermatogenesis in rats.

    • Linlin Su
    • , Dolores D. Mruk
    •  & C. Yan Cheng

  • Article |

    Recent technological advances have allowed the expansion of spermatogonial stem cellsin vitro; however, in vivo conditions are required for the full differentiation of the cells. In this study, an in vitroorgan culture system is developed that allows the differentiation of the germ cells in the laboratory.

    • Takuya Sato
    • , Kumiko Katagiri
    •  & Takehiko Ogawa

  • Article |

    Some organisms produce unequal numbers of male and female progeny, but the mechanics of skewed of sex ratios are largely unknown. Here, the authors describe alterations in X-chromosome segregation and cytoplasmic partitioning during spermatogenesis that together explain the distorted sex ratio in a nematode species.

    • Diane C. Shakes
    • , Bryan J. Neva
    •  & Andre Pires-daSilva

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