Fig. 1

Inactivation of E4f1 in spermatogonia leads to abnormal spermatogenesis. A Peak distribution in the TSS ± 1 kb region. B Distribution of peaks in genomic functional areas. C UMAP visualization of the scATAC-seq dataset (7677 nuclei from Lin28-YFP-positive spermatogonia), colored by cluster. D Chromatin accessibility profiling of Lin28-YFP⁺ spermatogonia. The black line represents a double-spline fitted trajectory across chromatin accessibility profiling. E Heatmap showing dynamic gene scores across all clusters. F Plot of maximum difference between chromVAR deviation z score, depicting TF motif activity, against correlation of chromVAR deviation and corresponding TF score. TFs with maximum differences in chromVAR deviation z score in the top quartile of all TFs and a correlation of greater than 0.5 are indicated in red. G Immunofluorescence staining for E4F1 (red) and LIN28A (green) in cross-sections of control and E4f1 cKO testes at postnatal day (PD) 6. H Gross morphology of testes from 2-month-old control and E4f1 cKO mice. I The ratio of testis weight and body weight from 2-month-old controls and E4f1 cKO mice. J H&E staining of control and E4f1 cKO testes at 2 months of age. Error bars represent SD. **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, Student’s t test. n = 3