DAZL regulate germline, pluripotency, and proliferation related genes in chicken PGCs and cooperate with DDX4

Zhenwen Huang; Long Xie; Hu Feng; Meiyu Lan; Tianpeng Xu; Dongyang Chen; Liping Pu; Yangqing Lu

doi:10.1016/j.theriogenology.2024.03.010

DAZL regulate germline, pluripotency, and proliferation related genes in chicken PGCs and cooperate with DDX4

Theriogenology. 2024 Jul 1:222:22-30. doi: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2024.03.010. Epub 2024 Mar 29.

Authors

Zhenwen Huang¹, Long Xie¹, Hu Feng², Meiyu Lan¹, Tianpeng Xu¹, Dongyang Chen¹, Liping Pu¹, Yangqing Lu³

Affiliations

¹ From the Guangxi Key Laboratory of Animal Breeding, Disease Control and Prevention, College of Animal Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530004, China.
² From the Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, China.
³ From the Guangxi Key Laboratory of Animal Breeding, Disease Control and Prevention, College of Animal Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530004, China. Electronic address: lyq@gxu.edu.cn.

PMID: 38615433
DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2024.03.010

Abstract

Primordial germ cells (PGCs) are the precursors of germ cells and play a crucial role in germline transmission. In chickens, PGCs can be cultured in vitro while maintaining their germline stem cell characteristics. The Deleted in Azoospermia-Like (DAZL) gene, which is highly expressed in PGCs, is essential for germ cell development. Here, through gene knockout experiments, we discovered that the loss of DAZL expression in chicken PGCs led to decreased proliferation and survival. By next employed techniques such as RIP-seq (RNA Binding Protein Immunoprecipitation) and Co-IP-MS/MS (Co-immunoprecipitation Mass Spectrometry), we identified genes directly regulated by DAZL or cooperating with DAZL at the transcriptomic and proteomic levels. DAZL was found to control genes related to germline development, pluripotency, and cell proliferation in PGCs. Additionally, we observed a significant overlap between RNAs and proteins that interact with both DAZL and DDX4, indicating their cooperation in the gene regulation network in chicken PGCs. Our research provides valuable insights into the function of the DAZL gene in germline cells.

Keywords: Chicken; DAZL; Primordial germ cells.

MeSH terms

Animals
Cell Proliferation*
Chickens* / genetics
DEAD-box RNA Helicases* / genetics
DEAD-box RNA Helicases* / metabolism
Gene Expression Regulation
Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
Germ Cells* / metabolism
RNA-Binding Proteins* / genetics
RNA-Binding Proteins* / metabolism

Substances

RNA-Binding Proteins
DEAD-box RNA Helicases