Abstract
In mammals, spermatogonial cells (SCs) are undifferentiated male germ cells in testis quiescent until birth that self-renew and differentiate to produce spermatogenic cells and functional sperm across life. The transcriptome of SCs is highly dynamic and timely regulated during postnatal development. We examined if such dynamics involves changes in chromatin organization by profiling the transcriptome and chromatin accessibility in SCs from early postnatal stages to adulthood in mice using RNA-seq and ATAC-seq. By integrating transcriptomic and epigenomic features, we show that SCs undergo massive chromatin remodeling during postnatal development that correlates with distinct gene expression profiles and transcription factors (TF) motif enrichment. We identify genomic regions with significantly different chromatin accessibility in adult SCs that are marked by histone modifications associated with enhancers and promoters. Some of the regions with increased accessibility correspond to transposable element subtypes enriched in multiple TFs motifs and close to differentially expressed genes. Our results underscore the dynamics of chromatin organization in developing germ cells and the involvement of the regulatory genome.
Lazar-Contes, Irina