Two Novel lncRNAs Regulate Primordial Germ Cell Development in Zebrafish

• Published in: Cells (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 12; no. 4; p. 672
• Main Authors: Li, Wenjing, Liu, Wei, Mo, Chengyu, Yi, Meisheng, Gui, Jianfang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.02.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Animals; Cell development (Biology); cell migration; Chemokines; Cytoplasm; Danio rerio; Embryos; Fluorescence in situ hybridization; Gene expression; Genetic aspects; Genetic regulation; Germ Cells; Gonads; Health aspects; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; Insects; lncRNA; Localization; Male; Non-coding RNA; primordial germ cell; RNA; RNA, Long Noncoding; Software; Somatic cells; Spermatogonia; Stem cells; Thermal cycling; Zebrafish; Zebrafish - genetics; Zebrafish Proteins - genetics; China; Beijing China; United States > US; Germany; cell migration; lncRNA; zebrafish; primordial germ cell
• ISSN: 2073-4409; 2073-4409
• DOI: 10.3390/cells12040672

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are regulatory transcripts in various biological processes. However, the role of lncRNAs in germline development remains poorly understood, especially for fish primordial germ cell (PGC) development. In this study, the lncRNA profile of zebrafish PGC was revealed by single cell RNA-sequencing and bioinformatic prediction. We established the regulation network of lncRNA-mRNA associated with PGC development, from which we identified three novel lncRNAs- , , and -highly expressing in PGCs and gonads. Fluorescent in situ hybridization indicated germline-specific localization of and in the cytoplasm and nucleus of spermatogonia, spermatocyte, and occyte, and they were co-localized with vasa in the cytoplasm of the spermatogonia. By contrast, was localized in the cytoplasm of male germline, myoid cells and ovarian somatic cells. Loss- and gain-of-function experiments demonstrated that knockdown and PGC-specific overexpression of as well as universal overexpression of significantly disrupted PGC development. In summary, the present study revealed the lncRNA profile of zebrafish PGC and identified two novel lncRNAs associated with PGC development, providing new insights for understanding the regulatory mechanism of PGC development.