Figure 2. MAEL is Required for L1 Regulation in Fetal Ovaries.
(A) Section of E16.5 Mael-mutant ovary section probed with MAEL antibody.
(B) Cytoplasmic MAEL (green) localization in WT E15.5 oocytes. SYCP2 (red) marks chromosome axes.
(C–F) WT ovaries of indicated developmental stages and ages probed with MAEL antibody. MAEL expression is observed in fetal oocytes throughout meiotic prophase I and in primordial, and primary follicles. Insets - MAEL single channel (green) close-up views. Bars represent 10 μm.
(G) qRT-PCR analysis of L1 mRNA levels relative to expression of germ cell-specific Mvh. (Mean ± St.dev. from three independent measurements are shown, t=10.82, p=0.0004). (H) Western blot detection of L1ORF1p relative to TRA98 expression in E15.5 ovaries based on results of analysis of three biological replicates. Dashed line marks the cut line of the membrane. (I) Quantification of Western blot data shown in (H). (Mean ± St.dev. from three independent measurements are shown, t =9.31, p=0.0007). Two-tailed unpaired Student's t-test, ***-P<0.001 (G, I).