The Study of MIWI/piRNA-Mediated mRNA Translational Activation during Mouse Spermiogenesis
DAI Peng LIU Mofang*
Development of post-meiotic male germ cell cells in animals is known as a complex biochemical and morphological process, which is termed as spermiogenesis. Chromatin condensation results in a drastic inhibition of transcriptional activity in late stages of haploid spermatids, and genes that are required for spermiogenesis need to be transcribed in advance and stored as mRNAs in earlier stages of germ cells. However, it remains largely unclear how such repressed mRNAs become activated during spermiogenesis. Here, we unexpectedly discovered that MIWI/piRNA/eIF3f/HuR super-complex is responsible for activating translation of a subset of spermiogenic mRNAs containing cis-acting AU-rich elements. These findings reveal a critical role of the PIWI/piRNA in translation activation, which is functionally required for spermatid development.
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