XXII. BIOCHEMICKÝ ZJAZD - Jesseniova lekárska fakulta

Lectures
THE IDENTIfICaTION aND CHaraCTErIZaTION of THE firST
verTEBraTE HYBrID STErILITY GENE (HST1/PrDM9)
Ondřej Mihola, Zdeněk Trachtulec and Jiří Forejt
Department of Mouse Molecular Genetics, Institute of Molecular Genetics, Academy
of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Videnska 1083, 142 20 Prague, Czech Republic
The mouse Hybrid sterility 1 (Hst1) gene participates in a breakdown of spermatogenesis
in the F1 offspring of crosses between some laboratory strains predominantly of Mus m.
domesticus origin (e.g., B6 or B10) and certain mice of Mus m. musculus (sub)species,
such as of the PWD strain. Other hybrid males, e.g. (PWD x C3H), are fertile. The Hst1 gene
has been mapped on a high-resolution ((B10 xC3H) x B10) backcross and by transgenesis.
The Hst1 candidate region was narrowed down to a single gene, PR-domain 9 (Prdm9)
or Meisetz, encoding a histone 3 K4 trimethyltransferase. The gene was confirmed as
Hst1 by comparing the phenotypes of its null allele with the phenotypes of the sterile
hybrids. To learn about the mechanisms regulating the germ-cell development through
PRDM9, the expression profile of fertile and sterile hybrid testes differing only in the
allele of Prdm9 were analysed by microarrays and real-time qRT-PCR. Furthemore, the
localization of PRDM9 protein in germ cells was studied by indirect immunofluorescence.
Our data suggest that Prdm9 is one of the master transactivators regulating meiotic
epigenetic events.
80 XXII. Biochemistry Congress, Martin