Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Endogenous retroviruses drive species-specific germline transcriptomes in mammals

2020; Nature Portfolio; Volume: 27; Issue: 10 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1038/s41594-020-0487-4

1545-9993

Akihiko Sakashita, So Maezawa, Kazuki Takahashi, Kris G. Alavattam, Masashi Yukawa, Yueh‐Chiang Hu, Shohei Kojima, Nicholas F. Parrish, Artem Barski, Mihaela Pavličev, Satoshi H. Namekawa,

CRISPR and Genetic Engineering

Gene regulation in the germline ensures the production of high-quality gametes, long-term maintenance of the species and speciation. Male germline transcriptomes undergo dynamic changes after the mitosis-to-meiosis transition and have been subject to evolutionary divergence among mammals. However, the mechanisms underlying germline regulatory divergence remain undetermined. Here, we show that endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) influence species-specific germline transcriptomes. After the mitosis-to-meiosis transition in male mice, specific ERVs function as active enhancers to drive germline genes, including a mouse-specific gene set, and bear binding motifs for critical regulators of spermatogenesis, such as A-MYB. This raises the possibility that a genome-wide transposition of ERVs rewired germline gene expression in a species-specific manner. Of note, independently evolved ERVs are associated with the expression of human-specific germline genes, demonstrating the prevalence of ERV-driven mechanisms in mammals. Together, we propose that ERVs fine-tune species-specific transcriptomes in the mammalian germline. ERV-specific enhancer-based networks regulate species-specific transcriptomes in mammalian spermatogenesis.