Open AccessEndogenous retroviruses drive species-specific germline transcriptomes in mammals
Author(s) -
Akihiko Sakashita,
So Maezawa,
Kuniyuki Takahashi,
Kris G. Alavattam,
Masashi Yukawa,
Yueh-Chiang Hu,
Shohei Kojima,
Nicholas F. Parrish,
Artem Barski,
Mihaela Pavličev,
Satoshi H. Namekawa
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
nature structural and molecular biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 9.448
H-Index - 270
eISSN - 1545-9993
pISSN - 1545-9985
DOI - 10.1038/s41594-020-0487-4
Subject(s) - germline , biology , genetics , endogenous retrovirus , enhancer , gene , genome , transcriptome , gene expression
Gene regulation in the germline ensures the production of high-quality gametes, long-term maintenance of the species and speciation. Male germline transcriptomes undergo dynamic changes after the mitosis-to-meiosis transition and have been subject to evolutionary divergence among mammals. However, the mechanisms underlying germline regulatory divergence remain undetermined. Here, we show that endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) influence species-specific germline transcriptomes. After the mitosis-to-meiosis transition in male mice, specific ERVs function as active enhancers to drive germline genes, including a mouse-specific gene set, and bear binding motifs for critical regulators of spermatogenesis, such as A-MYB. This raises the possibility that a genome-wide transposition of ERVs rewired germline gene expression in a species-specific manner. Of note, independently evolved ERVs are associated with the expression of human-specific germline genes, demonstrating the prevalence of ERV-driven mechanisms in mammals. Together, we propose that ERVs fine-tune species-specific transcriptomes in the mammalian germline.