Regulation of gene expression in undifferentiated spermatogonia by DDX5

The maintenance of spermatogenesis in adult males is dependent on a population of mitotic germ cells with self-renewal potential known as undifferentiated spermatogonia. Regulation of undifferentiated spermatogonia function is dependent on transcriptional and post-transcriptional mechanisms. We have identified an essential role for the RNA helicase DDX5 in undifferentiated spermatogonia through generation of a UBC-CreERT2;Ddx5flox/flox mouse model that allows tamoxifen-dependent Ddx5 ablation. To identify genes regulated by DDX5, we generated lines of cultured undifferentiated spermatogonia from these mice and treated cells with tamoxifen (TMX) to induce Ddx5 knockout or vehicle (VEH) as a control, and performed RNA-sequencing analysis to compare these conditions. Overall design: 4 independently generated lines of cultured undifferenatiated spermatogonia from UBC-CreERT2;Ddx5flox/flox mice treated with vehicle (VEH) as a control or tamoxifen (TMX) to induce Ddx5 knockout.