Open AccessSingle-cell RNAseq analysis of testicular germ and somatic cell development during the perinatal period
Author(s) -
Kun Tan,
H. C. Song,
Miles Wilkinson
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.754
H-Index - 325
eISSN - 1477-9129
pISSN - 0950-1991
DOI - 10.1242/dev.183251
Subject(s) - biology , somatic cell , germ cell , sertoli cell , transcriptome , spermatogenesis , period (music) , stem cell , population , microbiology and biotechnology , gene , genetics , andrology , gene expression , endocrinology , medicine , physics , demography , sociology , acoustics
Pro-spermatogonia (SG) serve as the gateway to spermatogenesis. Using single-cell RNA sequencing (RNAseq), we studied the development of ProSG, their SG descendants, and testicular somatic cells, during the perinatal period in mice. We identified both gene and protein markers for 3 temporally distinct ProSG cell subsets, including a migratory cell population with a distinct transcriptome from the previously defined T1- and T2-ProSG stages. This intermediate (I)-ProSG subset translocates from the center of seminiferous tubules to the spermatogonial stem cell (SSC) “niche” in its periphery soon after birth. We identified 3 undifferentiated SG subsets at postnatal day 7, each of which express distinct genes, including transcription factor and signaling genes. Two of these subsets have the characteristics of newly emergent SSCs. We also molecularly defined the development of Sertoli, Leydig, and peritubular myoid cells during the perinatal period, allowing us to identify candidate signaling pathways acting between somatic and germ cells in a stage-specific manner during the perinatal period. Our study provides a rich resource for those investigating testicular germ and somatic cell developmental during the perinatal period.