Abstract

It is estimated that more than two thousand genes exhibit testis-predominant expression pattern. The functions of hundreds of these genes have been explored during mouse spermatogenesis. However, there are still many genes whose relevance to reproduction in vivo remains unexplored. Our previous studies, as well as the other documented study, have indicated that Spata34, an evolutionarily conserved gene in metazoan species, was exclusively expressed in mouse testes and involved in spermatogenesis by regulating cell cycle progression. The present study aims to determine the effect of Spata34 gene knockout on mouse reproduction in vivo by generating a Spata34 gene knockout model using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing technology. We found that the Spata34 gene KO mice had normal fertility compared with wild type mice, and no overt detectable difference was found in testis/body weight ratios, testicular histology, sperm counts and spermatozoa motility parameters between WT and Spata34 KO mice. Our report indicated that the testis-specific-expressed gene Spata34 was not required for male mouse fertility, which will help to avoid unnecessary expenditures and effort by other researchers.

中文翻译：

---

小鼠生育力不需要睾丸特异性表达的基因Spata34

摘要

据估计，超过两千个基因表现出以睾丸为主的表达模式。在小鼠的精子发生过程中已经探索了数百种这些基因的功能。然而，仍然有许多基因尚未探索与体内繁殖的相关性。我们先前的研究以及其他文献研究表明，Spata34是后生动物物种中一个进化保守的基因，仅在小鼠睾丸中表达，并通过调节细胞周期进程参与生精。本研究旨在通过使用CRISPR / Cas9介导的基因组编辑技术生成Spata34基因敲除模型来确定Spata34基因敲除对体内小鼠繁殖的影响。我们发现与野生型小鼠相比，Spata34基因KO小鼠的生育力正常，在WT和Spata34 KO小鼠之间，睾丸/体重比，睾丸组织学，精子数量和精子活力参数没有明显的差异。我们的报告表明，雄性小鼠的生育力不需要睾丸特异性表达的基因Spata34，这将有助于避免其他研究人员不必要的花费和精力。