# Maternal control of germline development

> **NIH NIH R35** · UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN · 2022 · $383,086

## Abstract

Abstract
Primordial germ cells (PGCs) are the precursors of the gametes. Defective PGC development results in
reduction or elimination of germ cells and ultimately causes infertility in humans, which affects 10–15% of
couples. During development, PGCs are born much earlier than the formation of the gonads. PGCs must
manage to survive in the non-protective somatic environment for a long time and later migrate long
distances to find the gonads. Specification of PGCs and their proliferation during early stages are crucial
to ensure that sufficient number of PGCs can reach the gonads and differentiate into gametes. A large
body of literature has demonstrated that before migrating into the gonads, PGC development relies heavily
on translational and post-translational regulatory mechanisms. Understanding how PGC development is
operated at the translational and post-translation levels thus is highly relevant to human reproductive
health. My laboratory studies early PGC development using Xenopus as a model. We recently reported
that maternal Dead End1 (Dnd1) is important for asymmetric localization of mRNA in the oocyte. After
fertilization, Dnd1 recruits the translational machinery to nanos mRNA and promotes nanos translation.
Through this mechanism, Dnd1 prevents somatic differentiation of PGCs and protects their totipotency.
Our recent preliminary results reveal that Dnd1 is rapidly degraded in the oocyte by the ubiquitin-
independent proteasome system. In order for Dnd1 to accumulate and promote nanos translation after
fertilization, RNAs coding for proteasome activators must be separated from dnd1 and other germline
specific maternal factors during the oocyte-to-embryo transition. We propose to study how this novel
mRNA translocation event prepares for the initiation of PGC development after fertilization and investigate
how RNAs coding for proteasome activators are separated from dnd1 and other germline specific maternal
factors during the oocyte-to-embryo transition. Moreover, we have made an exciting finding that the first
wave of PGC proliferation is regulated by maternal Dzip1. We will determine if Dzip1 regulates PGC
proliferation via binding and modifying the activities of germline specific RNA-binding proteins.
Furthermore, we will identify the zygotic transcriptional network that acts downstream of Dzip1 to control
PGC proliferation. These works will make important contributions to our understanding of basic cell,
reproductive, and developmental biology.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10410366
- **Project number:** 5R35GM131810-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
- **Principal Investigator:** Jing Yang
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $383,086
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-07-01 → 2024-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10410366

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10410366, Maternal control of germline development (5R35GM131810-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10410366. Licensed CC0.

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