Journal
DEVELOPMENT
Volume 133, Issue 10, Pages 2053-2062Publisher
COMPANY BIOLOGISTS LTD
DOI: 10.1242/dev.02371
Keywords
female fertility; oogenesis; pre-implantation development; transcription regulation; transgenic RNAi
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Funding
- NICHD NIH HHS [HD22681, HD44096] Funding Source: Medline
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Basonuclin is a zinc-finger protein found in abundance in oocytes. It qualifies as a maternal-effect gene because the source of preimplantation embryonic basonuclin is maternal. Using a transgenic-RNAi approach, we knocked down basonuclin specifically in mouse oocytes, which led to female sub-fertility. Basonuclin deficiency in oocytes perturbed both RNA polymerase I- and II-mediated transcription, and oocyte morphology was affected ( as evidenced by cytoplasmic and cell surface abnormalities). Some of the affected oocytes, however, could still mature to and arrest at metaphase II, and be ovulated. Nevertheless, fertilized basonuclin-deficient eggs failed to develop beyond the two-cell stage, and this pre-implantation failure accounted for the sub-fertility phenotype. These results suggest that basonuclin is a new member of the mammalian maternal-effect genes and, interestingly, differs from the previously reported mammalian maternal-effect genes in that it also apparently perturbs oogenesis.
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