title: Transcriptome analyses of male germ cells with serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE).
abstract: Serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) provides an alternative with additional advantages to microarrays for studying gene expression during spermatogenesis. The digitized transcriptome provided by SAGE of purified mouse germ cells identified 27,504 species of transcripts expressed in type A spermatogonia, pachytene spermatocytes, and round spermatids. Over 2700 of these transcripts were novel. Computational analyses allowed the identification of clusters of co-regulated genes, cell-specific promoter modules, cell-specific biological processes, as well as "preferential" biological networks in different cell types. These analyses provided potential drug targets for interference of specific pathways at different stages of spermatogenesis. Analyses of the transcriptomes revealed the prominent role of cytochrome c oxidase in germ cells and suggest a novel role for this enzyme in cytochrome c-mediated apoptosis in spermatogonia. A number of genes were shown to undergo differential splicing during spermatogenesis giving rise to cell-specific splice variants.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Clinical Genomics, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, 49 Convent Drive, MSC 4429, Bethesda, MD 20892-4429, USA. chanwy@mail.nih.gov
authors.forename: Wai-Yee
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Tin-Lap
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Shao-Ming
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ruszczyk
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Alba
authors.forename: Vanessa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Baxendale
authors.forename: Owen M
authors.initials: OM
authors.lastname: Rennert
mesh_terms: D017398:Alternative Splicing / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D019295:Computational Biology; D003272:Contraceptive Agents, Male / Q000494:pharmacology; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV / Q000235:genetics; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D005810:Multigene Family; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D013091:Spermatogenesis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics*; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000378:metabolism*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D003272:Contraceptive Agents, Male; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV