Spatiotemporal dynamics of mammalian spermatogenesis: from stem cells to tissue organization

Speaker: Professor Shosei Yoshida, Division of Germ Cell Biology, National Institute for Basic Biology, Japan
Series: Gurdon Institute Seminar Series

The germline is the only cell lineage that transmits genetic information across generations. In males, the continuous and robust production of large numbers of sperm is vital for reproductive success. This requires the stable maintenance of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs), sustained production of differentiating cells, and spatiotemporally coordinated progression of differentiation that maintains tissue and organ-scale homeostasis.

By combining intravital imaging, lineage tracing, and mathematical analysis, we have investigated how these processes are organized across scales. We found that SSCs maintain a self-renewing pool, as they actively migrate and dynamically interconvert among multiple states with distinct morphologies and gene expression profiles. We further uncovered how differentiation proceeds in a spatiotemporally coordinated manner to generate wave-like dynamic patterns.