Functional assays for mRNA detect many new messages after male meiosis in mice

We have investigated the changes occurring in the pattern of translatable mRNA species in germ cells during spermatogenesis of mice. Highly homogeneous cell populations of spermatocytes or spermatids were purified. Poly(A)+ mRNA was isolated from each cell population by oligo(dT)-cellulose chromatography. A comparison of meiotic and post-meiotic mRNAs was made by two-dimensional gel analyses of their in vitro synthesized translation products. Among spots identified in the fluorograms of two-dimensional gels, a number of qualitatively new proteins appeared after meiosis. The results suggest that some of poly(A)+ mRNAs are transcribed post-meiotically in haploid germ cells.