eLife (Apr 2024)

The rapidly evolving X-linked MIR-506 family fine-tunes spermatogenesis to enhance sperm competition

  • Zhuqing Wang,
  • Yue Wang,
  • Tong Zhou,
  • Sheng Chen,
  • Dayton Morris,
  • Rubens Daniel Miserani Magalhães,
  • Musheng Li,
  • Shawn Wang,
  • Hetan Wang,
  • Yeming Xie,
  • Hayden McSwiggin,
  • Daniel Oliver,
  • Shuiqiao Yuan,
  • Huili Zheng,
  • Jaaved Mohammed,
  • Eric C Lai,
  • John R McCarrey,
  • Wei Yan

DOI
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.90203
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13

Abstract

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Despite rapid evolution across eutherian mammals, the X-linked MIR-506 family miRNAs are located in a region flanked by two highly conserved protein-coding genes (SLITRK2 and FMR1) on the X chromosome. Intriguingly, these miRNAs are predominantly expressed in the testis, suggesting a potential role in spermatogenesis and male fertility. Here, we report that the X-linked MIR-506 family miRNAs were derived from the MER91C DNA transposons. Selective inactivation of individual miRNAs or clusters caused no discernible defects, but simultaneous ablation of five clusters containing 19 members of the MIR-506 family led to reduced male fertility in mice. Despite normal sperm counts, motility, and morphology, the KO sperm were less competitive than wild-type sperm when subjected to a polyandrous mating scheme. Transcriptomic and bioinformatic analyses revealed that these X-linked MIR-506 family miRNAs, in addition to targeting a set of conserved genes, have more targets that are critical for spermatogenesis and embryonic development during evolution. Our data suggest that the MIR-506 family miRNAs function to enhance sperm competitiveness and reproductive fitness of the male by finetuning gene expression during spermatogenesis.

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