2008/02/15 by Atsushi Suzuki, Yumiko Saga · 1 citation
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Epigenetics and DNA Methylation #DNA Repair Mechanisms #Genetic and Clinical Aspects of Sex Determination and Chromosomal Abnormalities
paper · pdf · doi:10.1101/gad.1612708
openalex publication_date 2008/02/15 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
In mouse fetal gonads, retinoic acid (RA) induces meiosis in the female germ cells, whereas the male germ cells never enter meiosis due to Cyp26b1-mediated RA metabolism. We show here that Nanos2 plays critical roles in the differentiation of male germ cells. We find that Nanos2 maintains the suppression of meiosis by preventing Stra8 expression, which is required for premeiotic DNA replication, after Cyp26b1 is decreased. We also demonstrate that Nanos2 activates a male-specific genetic program, which is supported by the inhibition of meiosis and the induction of male-type differentiation in female germ cells following the forced expression of Nanos2.