Making Germ Cells Flashcards
where do germ cells come from
position dependent - specific location in embryo and depends on signalling (wnt, tgfbeta)
what determines whether they will become oocytes or sperm
gonadal environment - whether somatic cells of gonad follow ovarian or testicular pathway
what controls entry into meiosis
retinoic acid - produced by both embryos but degraded by male embryos (do not enter meiosis)
what happens by time female born
all recombination and crossing over of chromosomes has occurred in all oocytes
describe primordial germ cells
cells in early embryo
must choose cell fate = xx or xy (oogonia or spermatogonia)
how does pgc choose cell fate
Depends on environment = has no actual preference just responding to environment
are germ cells fundamentally different from somatic cells
yes and no
describe germ cells are fundamentally different from somatic cells
egg–> soma
egg–>germ
egg–>germ–>germ
germ cells = have infinite life sorta, egg becomes mebryo and keeps going on
somatic cells = finite, like house for germ cells to live and propagate indefinitely
describe germ cells are NOT fundamentally different from somatic cells
egg–>soma–>germ–>soma
mammals more like this
gives rise to many cell types - some germ and some soma
describe germ cells of nematode - ascaris
certain regions of chromatin degraded in somatic cells = limited subset of genes to work with, incomplete genome
all chromatin retained in germ cells = complete genome
describe germ cells of fly (drosophila)
poles segregated at posterior end of embryo (pole plasm) contain germ cell determinants
early spatial segregation
posterior pole cells - descendants form pcgs
describe germ cells of c elegans (worm)
aggregates of mitochondria, protein and rna in egg (p granules) become segregated into germ cells - germ cells set aside very early from somatic cells
intermingled germ and somatic then during cleavage the germ cells cluster into 2 cells –> descendants become germ cells
describe germ cells of mammals
Lessons from monozygotic siblings and embryo biopsies
identical twins/triplets = at early stage embryogenesis (20-50 cells) = fragments and each becomes embryo
serves as Argument against c elegans model also ivf (genetic testing done to check for mutations, can biopsy embryo and see if have mutations, must take one of cells and do genetic analysis, not a correct model of germ cells cause could end up taking cell with germ cell precursors)
describe differentiation of pcgs = mouse
gestation period 3 weeks
pcg determination –> pcg migration–> sex determination –> gametogenesis
cell fate assigned as pcgs = once start to develop must migrate to developing gonad
describe anatomy of embryo at pcg specification - mouse
all cells descended from fertilized egg
extraembryonic ectoderm = contributes to placenta
proximal posterior epiblast = posterior part tail
anterior epiblast = head part
epiblast = forms mouse itself
not linear but axis still present
describe anatomy of embryo at pcg specification - mouse vs human
much more linear
pgc’s originate from posterior side
tail and head regions
describe Anatomical position of newly specified PGCs
in mouse = one origin, primitive streak
in human = pcgs arise from posterior end (specific), could be 2 origins - hard to see, analogous region in hands
Why do the PGCs arise in the posterior epiblast?
can be explained by an experiment
cells from distal tip of epiblast which normally give rise to neuroectoderm , when transplanted to post epiblast = give rise to pcgs
recover 6.5 day embryo from mouse and dissect out cells from future trunk of embryo = transplant into new position and cells acquired fate of new position
not where they were originally from = positional
name 2 cell signalling pathways important in pcg specification
wnt
Transforming growth factor beta
describe wnt singling - absence of ligand
off
no wnt
beta catenin = made by cell
if no ligand it’s bound in complex and then degraded by ub
describe wnt singling - presence of ligand
wnt binds to frizzled (activates receptor on surface of cell)
starts intracellular signalling pathway
Complex disassembles and beta catenin is stabilized = not degraded so enters nucleus and activates transcription of target genes with help of partner protein
describe wnt
ligand that activates pathway encoded by wnt genes
widespread
describe tfgbeta signalling
ligand binds receptor on membrane = signalling pathway
smads stabilized/accumulated/translocated to nucleus and transcriptional activation of genes
involved with bmp = bone morphogenic protein
do wnt and tgfbeta activate same genes
nah
describe importance of wnts and bmps
genes located near where germ cells arise
wnt3 = more locally secreted, influences cells around/same cells to become pgcs
Bmp4 (tgfbeta fam member) = bone morphogenic protein, extra embryonic ectoderm secretes bmp to act on epiblast cells (activate expression of certain genes)
BOTH PATHWAYS important for cells to become pcgs - both work together with other factors = interaction of multiple signalling pathways
describe key genes of specification of primordial germ cells - gen
what happens inside cells to give them this property of being pcgs
expression of these genes needed in pcgs
genes identified as being important for germ cells to acquire expression identity
expressing identity - right place and time
describe key genes of specification of primordial germ cells -specific genes
lfitm3/fragilis = transmembrane protein/vrial entry
dppa3/stella = uncertain
prdm1/blimp1= dna binding transcriptional regulator
prdm14= dna binding transcriptional regulator
tcfap2c (AP2y)= dna binding transcriptional regulator
like transcription factors
do no know if activating or repressing
describe differentiation of pcgs
demethylation of dna
describe methylation of dna - general process
carbon in position number 5 can be modified by methyl group
change catalyzed by certain enzymes
describe methylation of dna - sequence
specific sequence susceptible to methylation = 5’–>3’ dir, CG (if G next to it = susceptible)
describe methylation of dna - process specifics
daughter cell has same methylation as parent because of selective nature of methyl transferase = dna methylation by DNMT1
very rapid and selective, loves to add methyl to cytosine opposite a methylated cytosine
other cytosines (not opposite methylated cytosine) = remains unmethylated
describe methylation of dna - why it doing that
easy for methylated cytosine to be propagated during cell division- easy for chromatin to be propagated
can dna methylation be inherited
can be transmitted after dna rep and therefore is heritable during cell proliferation
some methylations start de novo = from no methylation
if see hemi methylated dna = rapidly methylates other side