Inductive germ cell specification and self-assembly of sexually dimorphic gonads

Division Of Basic Sciences - Nci

Investigators

Abstract

Dr. Xintao Fan has made steady progress since the initiation of this project in Fall 2021, and has brought new techniques to bear in this emerging model system. He developed hybridization chain reaction protocols to visualize candidate aPSC and early germ cell biomarkers, including nanos and vasa homologs. He has characterized both postnatal and de novo gonad formation following amputation or starvation using cell type-specific markers on fixed tissue. He has identified conditions critical to the capture of biologically impactful time points for single cell RNA-Seq transcriptomic analysis as part of a collaborative atlas-building project to identify cellular constituents of the reproductive system, and candidate genes for future functional perturbation. A key area of focus in the upcoming fiscal year will be generating transgenic lines that allow us to visualize and track the dynamics of adult PSCs and the outcome of asymmetric divisions giving rise to germline stem cells. We will develop live imaging methods to observe gonad morphogenesis in different adult contexts, and will begin functional screening of candidate genes implicated in the establishment of germline stem cell fate(s).