Critical roles for Dicer in the female germline

Dicer is an essential component of RNA interference (RNAi) pathways, which have broad functions in gene regulation and genome organization. Probing the consequences of tissue-restricted Dicer loss in mice indicates a critical role for Dicer during meiosis in the female germline. Mouse oocytes lackin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Genes & development 2007-03, Vol.21 (6), p.682-693
Main Authors: Murchison, Elizabeth P, Stein, Paula, Xuan, Zhenyu, Pan, Hua, Zhang, Michael Q, Schultz, Richard M, Hannon, Gregory J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Base Sequence
Chromosome Aberrations
DNA Primers - genetics
DNA Transposable Elements - genetics
Embryonic Development
Female
Male
Meiosis
Mice
Mice, Knockout
Mice, Transgenic
MicroRNAs - genetics
MicroRNAs - metabolism
Oocytes - cytology
Oocytes - enzymology
Oocytes - growth & development
Oogenesis
Pregnancy
Research Paper
Ribonuclease III - deficiency
Ribonuclease III - genetics
Ribonuclease III - metabolism
RNA Interference
Transcription, Genetic
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Summary:Dicer is an essential component of RNA interference (RNAi) pathways, which have broad functions in gene regulation and genome organization. Probing the consequences of tissue-restricted Dicer loss in mice indicates a critical role for Dicer during meiosis in the female germline. Mouse oocytes lacking Dicer arrest in meiosis I with multiple disorganized spindles and severe chromosome congression defects. Oogenesis and early development are times of significant post-transcriptional regulation, with controlled mRNA storage, translation, and degradation. Our results suggest that Dicer is essential for turnover of a substantial subset of maternal transcripts that are normally lost during oocyte maturation. Furthermore, we find evidence that transposon-derived sequence elements may contribute to the metabolism of maternal transcripts through a Dicer-dependent pathway. Our studies identify Dicer as central to a regulatory network that controls oocyte gene expression programs and that promotes genomic integrity in a cell type notoriously susceptible to aneuploidy.
ISSN:0890-9369
1549-5477
DOI:10.1101/gad.1521307