Broad phosphorylation mediated by testis-specific serine/threonine kinases contributes to spermiogenesis and male fertility.

Genetic studies elucidate a link between testis-specific serine/threonine kinases (TSSKs) and male infertility in mammals, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Here, we identify a TSSK homolog in Drosophila, CG14305 (termed dTSSK), whose mutation impairs the histone-to-protamine transition during spermiogenesis and causes multiple phenotypic defects in nuclear shaping, DNA condensation, and flagellar organization in spermatids. Genetic analysis demonstrates that kinase catalytic activity of dTSSK, which is functionally conserved with human TSSKs, is essential for male fertility.

Cis- and trans-regulation by histone H4 basic patch R17/R19 in metazoan development.

The histone H4 basic patch is critical for chromatin structure and regulation of the chromatin machinery. However, the biological roles of these positively charged residues and the mechanisms by which they regulate gene expression remain unclear. In this study, we used histone mutagenesis to investigate the physiological function and downstream regulatory genes of H4 residues R17 and R19 in .

Transcription-coupled donor DNA expression increases homologous recombination for efficient genome editing.

Genomes can be edited by homologous recombination stimulated by CRISPR/Cas9 [clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated peptide 9]-induced DNA double-strand breaks. However, this approach is inefficient for inserting or deleting long fragments in mammalian cells. Here, we describe a simple genome-editing method, termed transcription-coupled Cas9-mediated editing (TEd), that can achieve higher efficiencies than canonical Cas9-mediated editing (CEd) in deleting genomic fragments, inserting/replacing large DNA fragments and introducing point mutations into mammalian cell lines.