Genome engineering uncovers 54 evolutionarily conserved and testis-enriched genes that are not required for male fertility in mice
Abstract
In the mouse genome, thousands of genes are predominantly expressed in the testis, where these genes are thought to play important roles in spermatogenesis and fertilization. However, in this study, we report that 54 evolutionarily conserved and testis-enriched genes are not essential individually for male mouse fertility. Because the recent development of the CRISPR/Cas9 system has made it faster and easier to produce knockout mice, our results suggest that one should determine whether a gene of interest is essential for male fertility in vivo before spending significant effort to analyze the molecular function of the gene in vitro.
- Publication:
-
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science
- Pub Date:
- July 2016
- DOI:
- 10.1073/pnas.1608458113
- Bibcode:
- 2016PNAS..113.7704M