Journal
DEVELOPMENT
Volume 149, Issue 4, Pages -Publisher
COMPANY BIOLOGISTS LTD
DOI: 10.1242/dev.200319
Keywords
Gastrulation; Ovol2; Primordial germ cells
Categories
Funding
- Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan [18H05544, 18H05545, 18H05552]
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
- Takeda Science Foundation
- Luca Bella Foundation
- Open Philanthropy Project
- Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research [18H05544, 18H05552] Funding Source: KAKEN
Ask authors/readers for more resources
This study reveals the molecular mechanism underlying the allocation of germ line cells during embryonic development by identifying the transcription factor OVOL2 as a key regulator balancing gastrulation and primordial germ cell specification.
In mammals, primordial germ cells (PGCs), the origin of the germ line, are specified from the epiblast at the posterior region where gastrulation simultaneously occurs, yet the functional relationship between PGC specification and gastrulation remains unclear. Here, we show that OVOL2, a transcription factor conserved across the animal kingdom, balances these major developmental processes by repressing the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) that drives gastrulation and the upregulation of genes associated with PGC specification. OvOl2a, a splice variant encoding a repressor domain, directly regulates EMT-related genes and, consequently, induces re-acquisition of potential pluripotency during PGC specification, whereas Ovol2b, another splice variant missing the repressor domain, directly upregulates genes associated with PGC specification. Taken together, these results elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying allocation of the germ line among epiblast cells differentiating into somatic cells through gastrulation. This article has an associated 'The people behind the papers' interview.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available