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Targeted JAM-C deletion in germ cells by Spo11-controlled Cre recombinase

2010; The Company of Biologists; Volume: 124; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1242/jcs.072959

1477-9137

Manuela Pellegrini, Giuseppina Claps, Valeria V. Orlova, Florencia Barrios, Susanna Dolci, Raffaele Geremia, Pellegrino Rossi, Gabriele Rossi, Bernd Arnold, Triantafyllos Chavakis, Lionel Feigenbaum, Shyam K. Sharan, André Nussenzweig,

Sperm and Testicular Function

Meiosis is a crucial process for the production of functional gametes. However, the biological significance of many genes expressed during the meiotic phase remains poorly understood, mainly because of the lethal phenotypes of the knockout mice. Functional analysis of such genes using the conditional knockout approach is hindered by the lack of suitable Cre transgenic lines. We describe here the generation of transgenic mice expressing Cre recombinase under the control of the meiotic Spo11 gene. Using LacZ-R26(loxP) and EYFP-R26(loxP) reporter mice, we show the specific expression and activity of Cre during meiosis in males and females. Spo11(Cre) mice were then crossed with floxed Nbs1 and JAM-C mice to produce conditional knockouts. A strong reduction of Nbs1 and JAM-C protein levels was found in the testis. Although Nbs1-deleted mice developed minor gonadal abnormalities, JAM-C-knockout mice showed a spermiogenetic arrest, as previously described for the null mice. These results provide strong evidence that Spo11(Cre) transgenic mice represent a powerful tool for deleting genes of interest specifically in meiotic and/or in postmeiotic germ cells.