RNA-Seq and RNA Polymerase II ChIP-Seq of mouse spermatogenesis. Mus musculus

To characterize gene expression in spermatogenesis we sequenced eight mRNA samples from testes of juvenile mice aged between 6 and 38 days post partum. We then classified gene expression profiles and found over 1,000 meiotically-expressed protein-coding genes that have not been previously reported in relation to spermatogenesis. Furthermore, we developed an in silico de-convolution approach to estimate cell type-specific gene expression from temporal gene expression profiles and applied it to our dataset. To further characterize transcription during spermatogenesis, we determined RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) distribution along the genome using ChIP-Seq. Overall design: mRNA sequencing at 8 time points during spermatogenesis was used to characterize differential gene expression; RNA Pol II ChIP-Seq at two time points was used to estimate RNA Pol II accumulation at promoters.