DAZ (Deleted in Azoospermia), the putative azoospermia factor gene in human, encodes a ribonucleoprotein-type RNA-binding protein required for spermatogenesis. A Drosophila homologue of DAZ, called boule, is also essential for spermatogenesis. A mouse homologue, Dazla, is implicated in both spermatogenesis and oogenesis. Here, we report the identification and characterization of daz-1, the sing...

Controlled gene regulation during gamete development is vital for maintaining reproductive potential. During the complex process of mammalian spermatogenesis, male germ cells experience extended periods of the inactive transcription despite heavy translational requirements for continued growth and differentiation. Hence, spermatogenesis is highly reliant on mechanisms of posttranscriptional reg...

cAMP responsive element modulator (CREM) activators are specifically expressed in haploid germ cells prior to cell elongation and are essential for spermatid development in mice. Recent studies indicate that CREM activators are also involved in the process of spermatid maturation in men. Unlike the activators, CREM repressors were suggested to be absent from adult mouse and dog testes. The pres...

Transgenic mouse models have contributed considerably to our understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which androgens control spermatogenesis. Cell-selective ablation of the androgen receptor (AR) in Sertoli cells (SC) results in a complete block in meiosis and unambiguously identifies the SC as the main cellular mediator of the effects of androgens on spermatogenesis. This con...

The rapid emergence of large-scale atlas-level single-cell RNA-seq datasets presents remarkable opportunities for broad and deep biological investigations through integrative analyses. However, harmonizing such requires integration approaches to be not only computationally scalable, but also capable preserving a wide range fine-grained cell populations. We have created Portal, unified framework...