THE MECHANISTIC TARGET OF RAPAMYCIN (mTOR) AND ITS COMPLEX 1 ASSOCIATED PROTEIN RPTOR ARE GERM CELL-AUTONOMOUSLY REQUIRED FOR SPERMATOGONIAL DEVELOPMENT & CHAPTER IV: INVESTIGATING CHANGES IN THE TESTICULAR TRANSCRIPTOME DURING THE PROSPERMATOGONIAL TRANSITION

Stem , progenitor , and differentiating spermatogonia are formed in the neonatal mouse testis , and they provide the foundation for spermatogenesis and life-long fertility. Currently , the factors that regulate these varying spermatogonial fates , in particular the molecular mediators that regulate spermatogonial differentiation , are poorly understood. Our lab previously reported that retinoic acid (RA) activates kinase signaling pathways to stimulate synthesis of proteins required for spermatogonial differentiation. The work presented here extends those findings , and is organized into chapters. In chapters 1-2 , I present published studies describing key roles for 'mechanistic target of rapamycin kinase' (MTOR) and 'regulatory associated protein of MTOR , complex 1' (RPTOR) in normal spermatogonial development in vivo. In chapter 3 , I present the results from an unbiased RNA-seq analysis of testicular gene expression in the fetal and neonatal mouse testis prior to establishment of the spermatogonial pool