Premium
Onset of paternal gene activation in early mouse embryos fertilized with transgenic mouse sperm
Author(s) -
Matsumoto Kazuya,
Anzai Masayuki,
Nakagata Naomi,
Takahashi Akio,
Takahashi Yumi,
Miyata Kenji
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
molecular reproduction and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.745
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1098-2795
pISSN - 1040-452X
DOI - 10.1002/mrd.1080390203
Subject(s) - biology , luciferase , embryo , transgene , microbiology and biotechnology , gene , sperm , gene expression , genetically modified mouse , complementary dna , embryogenesis , genetics , transfection
We investigated the onset of paternal gene expression in the early mouse embryo. We obtained transgenic mouse embryos by fertilizing BD (C57BL/6N x DBA) F1 hybrid female oocytes in vitro, with sperm from homozygous transgenic males carrying integrated chicken β‐actin promoter‐driven firefly luciferase cDNA. We then examined the RNA and protein synthesis of the luciferase gene in embryos from the 1‐ to 2‐cell stage. RNA transcripts of the luciferase gene were first detected in the 1‐cell stage embryos as early as 13 hr postinsemination, just prior to elongation. By photon‐count imaging, functional luciferase was identified at the 2‐cell stage 23 hr postinsemination. These findings indicate that the paternal endogenous gene is already transcribed in the late 1‐cell embryos, although paternally derived protein is not synthesized until the 2‐cell stage. Therefore, these results suggest that the embryonic gene is activated as early as the late 1‐cell stage. ©1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.