title: Male germ cells express abundant endogenous siRNAs.
abstract: In mammals, endogenous siRNAs (endo-siRNAs) have only been reported in murine oocytes and embryonic stem cells. Here, we show that murine spermatogenic cells express numerous endo-siRNAs, which are likely to be derived from naturally occurring double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) precursors. The biogenesis of these testicular endo-siRNAs is DROSHA independent, but DICER dependent. These male germ cell endo-siRNAs can potentially target hundreds of transcripts or thousands of DNA regions in the genome. Overall, our work has unveiled another hidden layer of regulation imposed by small noncoding RNAs during male germ cell development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, University of Nevada School of Medicine, Reno, NV 89557, USA.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Grant W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Hennig
authors.forename: Qiuxia
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Charlie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jose
authors.forename: Huili
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D033481:Chromosomes, Mammalian / Q000378:metabolism; D053487:DEAD-box RNA Helicases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D041681:NIH 3T3 Cells; D020871:RNA Stability / Q000235:genetics; D012330:RNA, Double-Stranded / Q000235:genetics; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D043244:Ribonuclease III / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000378:metabolism*; D013737:Testis / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D012330:RNA, Double-Stranded; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; C509781:Dicer1 protein, mouse; C513400:Drosha protein, mouse; D043244:Ribonuclease III; D053487:DEAD-box RNA Helicases