MOV10L1 is necessary for protection of spermatocytes against retrotransposons by Piwi-interacting RNAs

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165 Scopus citations

Abstract

Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) comprise a broad class of small noncoding RNAs that function as an endogenous defense system against transposable elements. Here we show that the putative DExD-box helicase MOV10-like-1 (MOV10L1) is essential for silencing retrotransposons in the mouse male germline. Mov10l1 is specifically expressed in germ cells with increasing expression from gonocytes/type A spermatogonia to pachytene spermatocytes. Primary spermatocytes of Mov10l1-/- mice showactivation of LTR and LINE-1 retrotransposons, followed by cell death, causing male infertility and a complete block of spermatogenesis at early prophase of meiosis I. Despite the early expression of Mov10l1, germline stem cell maintenance appears unaffected in Mov10l1-/- mice. MOV10L1 interacts with the Piwi proteins MILI and MIWI.MOV10L1 also interacts with heat shock 70-kDa protein 2 (HSPA2), a testis-enriched chaperone expressed in pachytene spermatocytes and also essential for male fertility. These studies reveal a crucial role of MOV10L1 in male fertility and piRNA-directed retrotransposon silencing in male germ cells and suggest that MOV10L1 functions as a key component of a safeguard mechanism for the genetic information in male germ cells of mammals.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)11847-11852
Number of pages6
JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume107
Issue number26
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 29 2010

Keywords

  • Armitage
  • Meiosis
  • RNA helicase

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

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