For real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), total testis RNA was extracted using Trizol and then DNaseI-treated (Invitrogen). Reverse transcription of polyadenylated RNA was performed with Superscript Reverse Transcriptase II, according to the manufacturer's guidelines (Invitrogen). Real-time PCR was performed using Absolute qPCR SYBR Green ROX mix (ThermoFisher) on an ABI PRISM 7500 machine (Applied Biosystems). PCR reactions were incubated at 95°C for 15 min followed by 40 PCR cycles (5 s at 95°C, 20 s at 60°C, and 45 s at 68°C). Primer sequences are available in Table S3 . Samples from four transgenic mice and three nontransgenic siblings (negative controls), all at 2 mo of age, were analyzed. All reactions were carried out in triplicate per assay, and β-actin was included on every plate as a loading control. The difference in PCR cycles with respect to β-actin (ΔCt) for a given experimental sample was subtracted from the mean ΔCt of the reference samples (negative siblings) (ΔΔCt). For the quantification of Sly knock-down, values were further normalized to ΔΔCt values of the spermatid-specific control Acrv1. This was to have a more robust analysis when compared with 2/3MSYq− mice, which have variability in spermatid content.
For microarray analyses, absolute expression values were obtained by single-color hybridizations (Illumina BeadChip, mouse whole-genome array, v2) for three sh367 transgenic individuals and matched littermate controls (negative siblings), and RNA from each individual was hybridized separately. A similar analysis was performed on 2/3MSYq−, 9/10MSYq−, and MSYq− samples and appropriate age/strain-matched controls. In each case, pooled RNA from two or three individuals was used as the sample. Differentially expressed genes were grouped into five categories based on their expression ratios across all genotypes (seeFigure S5 ). Similar microarray analyses were performed on juvenile testes (17 d postpartum) from three sh367 males and three littermate controls (negative siblings). There was no significant change of gene expression between the two groups. Microarray analyses were also performed on purified spermatid fractions from two groups of sh367 transgenic mice, two groups of sh367 negative siblings, and two groups of 2/3MSYq−.
For microarray analyses, absolute expression values were obtained by single-color hybridizations (Illumina BeadChip, mouse whole-genome array, v2) for three sh367 transgenic individuals and matched littermate controls (negative siblings), and RNA from each individual was hybridized separately. A similar analysis was performed on 2/3MSYq−, 9/10MSYq−, and MSYq− samples and appropriate age/strain-matched controls. In each case, pooled RNA from two or three individuals was used as the sample. Differentially expressed genes were grouped into five categories based on their expression ratios across all genotypes (see