SRSF2 is required for mRNA splicing during spermatogenesis

RNA splicing plays significant roles in fundamental biological activities. However, our knowledge about the roles of alternative splicing and underlying mechanisms during spermatogenesis is limited. Here, we report that Serine/arginine-rich splicing factor 2 (SRSF2), also known as SC35, plays critic...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMC biology 2023-10, Vol.21 (1), p.1-231, Article 231
Main Authors: Lei, Wen-Long, Du, Zongchang, Meng, Tie-Gang, Su, Ruibao, Li, Yuan-Yuan, Liu, Wenbo, Sun, Si-Min, Liu, Meng-Yu, Hou, Yi, Zhang, Chun-Hui, Gui, Yaoting, Schatten, Heide, Han, Zhiming, Liu, Chenli, Sun, Fei, Wang, Zhen-Bo, Qian, Wei-Ping, Sun, Qing-Yuan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alternative splicing
Analysis
Cell cycle
Chromosomes
Clonal deletion
Deletion
Deoxyribonucleic acid
Differentiation
DNA
Fertility
Genes
Health aspects
Infertility
Investigations
LACE-seq
Male infertility
Males
Meiosis
Messenger RNA
mRNA
Proteins
Ribonucleic acid
RNA
RNA splicing
Sex differentiation
Spermatogenesis
Spermatogonia
Splicing factors
SRSF2
Stem cells
Synapses
Testes
Yeast
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Summary:RNA splicing plays significant roles in fundamental biological activities. However, our knowledge about the roles of alternative splicing and underlying mechanisms during spermatogenesis is limited. Here, we report that Serine/arginine-rich splicing factor 2 (SRSF2), also known as SC35, plays critical roles in alternative splicing and male reproduction. Male germ cell-specific deletion of Srsf2 by Stra8-Cre caused complete infertility and defective spermatogenesis. Further analyses revealed that deletion of Srsf2 disrupted differentiation and meiosis initiation of spermatogonia. Mechanistically, by combining RNA-seq data with LACE-seq data, we showed that SRSF2 regulatory networks play critical roles in several major events including reproductive development, spermatogenesis, meiotic cell cycle, synapse organization, DNA recombination, chromosome segregation, and male sex differentiation. Furthermore, SRSF2 affected expression and alternative splicing of Stra8, Stag3 and Atr encoding critical factors for spermatogenesis in a direct manner. Taken together, our results demonstrate that SRSF2 has important functions in spermatogenesis and male fertility by regulating alternative splicing.
ISSN:1741-7007
1741-7007
DOI:10.1186/s12915-023-01736-6