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Updated: Aug 27, 2025

Defining the Program of Maternal mRNA Translation during In vitro Maturation using a Single Oocyte Reporter Assay
Published on: June 16, 2021
The RNA ligase RNA terminal phosphate cyclase B regulates mRNA alternative splicing and is required for mouse oocyte
Hua Zhang1,2, Jun-Chao Jiang1, Yun-Wen Wu1
1MOE Key Laboratory for Biosystems Homeostasis and Protection and Innovation Center for Cell Signaling Network, Life Sciences Institute, Zhajiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
Abstract:
Recent large-scale mRNA sequencing has shown that introns are retained in 5-10% of mRNA, and these events are named intron retention (IR). IR has been recognized as a key mechanism in the regulation of gene expression. However, the role of this mechanism in female reproduction in mammals remains unclear. RNA terminal phosphate cyclase B (RTCB) is a RNA ligase; we found that RTCB conditional knockout mice have premature ovarian failure and that RTCB plays a crucial role in follicular development. RTCB regulated the splicing of transcripts related to DNA methylation and DNA damage repair. In addition, it regulated the resumption of oocyte meiosis by affecting CDK1 activation. Moreover, the loss of RTCB suppressed zygotic genome activation (ZGA) and decreased translation at the global level. In addition, Rtcb deletion resulted in the accumulation of maternal mRNAs containing unspliced introns and in a decline in the overall level of transcripts. As a result, the Rtcb-/- females were sterile. Our study highlights the important role of RTCB-regulated noncanonical alternative splicing in female reproduction.
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