Spermiogenesis alterations in the absence of CTCF revealed by single cell RNA sequencing

In this work, we performed single cell RNA sequencing in spermatogenic cells without CTCF. We uncovered defects in transcriptional programs that explain the severity of the damage in the produced sperm. At early stages of spermatogenesis, transcriptional alterations are mild. As germ cells go throughout the specialization stage or spermiogenesis, transcriptional profiles become more altered. We found spermatid defects that support the alterations in the transcriptional profiles, and thus we conclude that CTCF depletion alters several transcriptional profiles mostly during spermiogenesis. Our data highlights the importance of CTCF at the different stages of spermatogenesis. Overall design: Testis mRNA profile of 12-15 weeks old Wild Type (Ctcf wt/wt) and Ctcf-cKO (Stra8-iCre-Ctcf f/? ) mice