Open AccessRetinoic acid and meiosis induction in adult versus embryonic gonads of medaka
Author(s) -
Mateus Contar Adolfi,
Amaury Herpin,
Martina Regensburger,
Jacopo Sacquegno,
Joshua S. Waxman,
Manfred Schartl
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
scientific reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.24
H-Index - 213
ISSN - 2045-2322
DOI - 10.1038/srep34281
Subject(s) - meiosis , biology , retinoic acid , gametogenesis , sertoli cell , embryo , andrology , embryonic stem cell , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , endocrinology , medicine , spermatogenesis , embryogenesis , gene
In vertebrates, one of the first recognizable sex differences in embryos is the onset of meiosis, known to be regulated by retinoic acid (RA) in mammals. We investigated in medaka a possible meiotic function of RA during the embryonic sex determination (SD) period and in mature gonads. We found RA mediated transcriptional activation in germ cells of both sexes much earlier than the SD stage, however, no such activity during the critical stages of SD. In adults, expression of the RA metabolizing enzymes indicates sexually dimorphic RA levels. In testis, RA acts directly in Sertoli, Leydig and pre-meiotic germ cells. In ovaries, RA transcriptional activity is highest in meiotic oocytes. Our results show that RA plays an important role in meiosis induction and gametogenesis in adult medaka but contrary to common expectations, not for initiating the first meiosis in female germ cells at the SD stage.