Next Generation Sequencing Analysis of Wild Type and Rfx2-/- Testicular Transcriptomes at post natal day 30 [RNA-Seq P30]

Purpose: This study was carried out to determine the consequences of the Rfx2-/- genotype on spermatogenesis in the mouse Methods: RNA was extracted from decapsulated testes of 29-30 day old mixed background mice of either genotype. Deep sequencing was used to determine quantitative expression of the genomes from independent replicates of each genotype Results: RNA-Seq analysis identified some 640 genes that are down regulated at least 2-fold in Rfx2-/- testes, with ~150 being reduced at least 10-fold Conclusion: Spermatogenesis undergoes complete arrest just prior to the end of the round spermatid period of sperm development in mutant mice. Sequencing results showed that approximately 640 genes were downregulated 2 fold or more in the testes of mutant mice. Comparison of similar studies of targeted mutations in genes for other transcription factor demonstrate that Rfx2 has a large and nearly unique set of genes that depend on it directly or indirectly. A large number of downregulated genes are identified with cilia function. Testicular mRNA profiles were determined by deep sequencing using testes from 5 independent wild type and 4 independent Rfx2-/- mice