| Two projects are described in this thesis, both of which use Xenopus germ cells as the main biological system. The first project involves the characterization of a germ cell-specific promoter in Xenopus oocytes. In this study, a 63 bp germ cell-specific core promoter of the TFIIA-like factor (ALF) gene was isolated and characterized by microinjection of promoter-reporter constructs in Xenopus oocytes. The results of this study demonstrate the feasibility of using immature frog oocytes as an assay system for studying germ cell gene regulation. The second project surveyed small RNA populations in Xenopus oocytes and other tissues. The results identify a tissue-specific tRNA anticodon cleavage event and begin to describe a very large population of oocyte and testis-specific piRNAs. Overall, this thesis describes studies on the mechanisms of germ cell specific-transcription and small RNA populations in Xenopus germ cells. |
