TAF4b Transcriptional Regulation During Cellular Quiescence of Developing Prospermatogonia

Abstract

Prospermatogonia (ProSpg) link the embryonic development of male primordial germ cells to the healthy establishment of postnatal spermatogonia and long-term mammalian spermatogenesis. While these spermatogenic precursor cells undergo the characteristic transitions of cycling and quiescence, the transcriptional events underlying these developmental hallmarks remain unknown. Here we investigated the expression and function of TAF4b in the timely development of mouse ProSpg using an integration of gene expression profiling and chromatin mapping. We find that Taf4b mRNA expression is elevated during the transition of M-to-T1 ProSpg and Taf4b-deficient ProSpg are delayed in their entry into quiescence. Gene ontology, protein network analysis, and chromatin mapping demonstrate that TAF4b is both a direct and indirect regulator of cell cycle-related gene expression programs during ProSpg quiescence. By comparing the transcriptome changes in male and female Taf4b-deficient embryonic germ cells, we revealed that TAF4b promotes sex-independent and -dependent gene expression pathways, highlighting its unique and critical role in the fertility of both sexes.