Dicer is required for haploid male germ cell differentiation in mice.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The RNase III endonuclease Dicer is an important regulator of gene expression that processes microRNAs (miRNAs) and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs). The best-characterized function of miRNAs is gene repression at the post-transcriptional level through the pairing with mRNAs of protein-encoding genes. Small RNAs can also act at the transcriptional level by controlling the epigenetic status of chromatin. Dicer and other mediators of small RNA pathways are present in mouse male germ cells, and several miRNAs and endogenous siRNAs are expressed in the testis, suggesting that Dicer-dependent small RNAs are involved in the control of the precisely timed and highly organised process of spermatogenesis.

Principal findings

Being interested in the Dicer-mediated functions d

SUBMITTER: Korhonen HM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3174967 | biostudies-literature | 2011

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature