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Published on: October 11, 2012
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Programmed Cell Death 2-Like (Pdcd2l) Is Required for Mouse Embryonic Development
Brendan J Houston1, Manon S Oud2, Daniel M Aguirre3
1School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Australia brendan.houston@monash.edu.
G3 (Bethesda, Md.)
|October 15, 2020
Summary
Programmed cell death protein 2 like (PDCD2L) is crucial for embryonic development, not male fertility. Knockout mice and fruit flies lacking PDCD2L exhibit developmental lethality, indicating its conserved role in development.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Genetics
- Reproductive Biology
Background:
- Globozoospermia, a rare infertility cause, is linked to globozoospermia gene mutations.
- Previous whole exome screening identified homozygous mutations in PDCD2L as a potential cause of globozoospermia.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of PDCD2L in male fertility using a knockout mouse model.
- To determine the function of PDCD2L in germ cells using Drosophila melanogaster.
Main Methods:
- Generated Pdcd2l knockout mice to assess male fertility.
- Utilized Drosophila melanogaster to study the role of the PDCD2L ortholog (trus) in germ cells via knockdown experiments.
Main Results:
- Pdcd2l knockout mice exhibited embryonic lethality, with embryos resorbed between embryonic days 12.5-17.5.
- Heterozygous Pdcd2l males showed normal fertility, comparable to wildtype males.
- Germ cell-specific knockdown of trus in Drosophila did not impact male fertility, despite global knockdown causing larval lethality.
Conclusions:
- PDCD2L is essential for embryonic development, not male fertility.
- The data suggest an evolutionarily conserved role for PDCD2L in development across species.
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