Article
Reproductive Biology
Darko Bosnakovski, Micah D. Gearhart, Si Ho Choi, Michael Kyba
Summary: Deletion of the mouse Dux gene does not result in lethality or infertility, nor does it prevent zygotic genome activation. However, it does impact post-implantation development in a subset of Dux knockout embryos.
BIOLOGY OF REPRODUCTION
(2021)
Article
Developmental Biology
Zhiyuan Chen, Zhenfei Xie, Yi Zhang
Summary: The study found that DPPA2 and DPPA4 play important roles in establishing the 2C-like state in mouse embryonic stem cells, but these factors are not essential for Dux activation, ZGA, and pre-implantation development. Therefore, caution should be taken when using 2C-like cells as a model system for studying ZGA and totipotency due to differences in regulation of two-cell embryo-specific genes compared to two-cell embryos.
Article
Reproductive Biology
Tianrui Zhang, Yingying Zheng, Rui Han, Tianya Kuang, Changguo Min, Heming Wang, Yicheng Zhao, Junjun Wang, Lianyu Yang, Dongsheng Che
Summary: This study reveals that pyruvate plays a crucial role in early embryonic development in pigs by promoting ZGA and reducing oxidative stress levels.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Edward J. Grow, Bradley D. Weaver, Christina M. Smith, Jingtao Guo, Paula Stein, Sean C. Shadle, Peter G. Hendrickson, Nicholas E. Johnson, Russell J. Butterfield, Roberta Menafra, Susan L. Kloet, Silvere M. van der Maarel, Carmen J. Williams, Bradley R. Cairns
Summary: The research demonstrates that p53 activates Dux and DUX4 in mouse and human cells, promoting cell differentiation and ZGA. Mouse Dux is activated by p53 to drive differentiation in embryonic stem cells, and the p53-DUX/DUX4 regulatory axis is conserved in humans. This finding reveals potential therapeutic opportunities for FSHD.
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jeffrey Colgren, Pawel Burkhardt
Summary: A new study shows that the nuclear-to-cytoplasmic ratio is the driving force behind cellularization in the fascinating organisms, the ichthyosporean Sphaeroforma arctica, which are closely related to animals.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Xiaoru Zhang, Changquan Zhang, Di Zhou, Tianlei Zhang, Xueqin Chen, Jinlin Ren, Caixia He, Fei Meng, Qinwei Zhou, Qiaohui Yang, Congling Dai, Ge Lin, Sicong Zeng, Lizhi Leng
Summary: Telomere length is shortened in the minor ZGA stage and significantly elongated in the major ZGA stage of human and mouse embryos. The expression of ZGA pioneer factor DUX4/Dux is negatively correlated with telomere length. Chromatin accessibility peaks on the DUX4 promoter region are transiently enhanced in human minor ZGA, suggesting that telomeres regulate the expression of DUX4/Dux through chromatin remodeling and are involved in ZGA.
Article
Cell Biology
Yuanyuan Li, Ning-Hua Mei, Gui-Ping Cheng, Jing Yang, Li-Quan Zhou
Summary: In this study, inhibition of DRP1 activity by mitochondrial division inhibitor-1 was shown to cause severe developmental arrest of preimplantation embryos in a dose-dependent manner in mice. The inhibition led to mitochondrial dysfunction and impeded zygotic genome activation, highlighting potential cytotoxic effects of DRP1 inhibition on mammalian reproduction. These findings emphasize the importance of caution when using DRP1 inhibitors in disease treatment, and provide insight into the crosstalk between mitochondrial metabolism and zygotic genome activation.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Reproductive Biology
Xingwei Huang, Xinglin Hu, Qi Jiang, Qianzi Cao, Yanshuang Wu, Lei Lei
Summary: The research indicates that Dux plays a critical role in the transition of embryonic stem cells to 2C-like ESCs, with its impact on the development of fertilized embryos still uncertain. By correcting aberrant H3K9 acetylation modification, Dux can enhance the reprogramming efficiency of SCNT embryos, thereby influencing preimplantation development.
BIOLOGY OF REPRODUCTION
(2021)
Article
Veterinary Sciences
Lijing Shi, Yanhui Zhai, Yuanshen Zhao, Xiangjie Kong, Daoyu Zhang, Hao Yu, Ziyi Li
Summary: The effects of ELF4 on porcine embryonic development are not well understood, but knocking down ELF4 was shown to decrease the developmental competency and blastocyst quality of embryos while inducing DNA damage at the 4-cell stage. ELF4 affects pig embryo development by maintaining genome integrity and regulating epigenetic modifications, as well as activating Zygotic gene activation-related genes.
FRONTIERS IN VETERINARY SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Nicholas Treen, Emily Chavarria, Claire J. Weaver, Clifford P. Brangwynne, Michael Levine
Summary: This study investigated the precise timing and regulatory mechanism of gene induction during early embryonic development in Ciona. The researchers identified Prdm1 genes as the earliest genes that respond to FGF signaling in Ciona. They proposed a mechanism involving ERK-mediated derepression of ERF repressor to drive FGF timing. The study also revealed a sharp transition in FGF responsiveness between the eight- and 16-cell stages of development.
GENES & DEVELOPMENT
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Baojiang Wu, Yanqiu Wang, Xinhua Wei, Jingcheng Zhang, Jiahui Wu, Guifang Cao, Yong Zhang, Jun Liu, Xihe Li, Siqin Bao
Summary: The overexpression of Nelfa enhances the conversion of mouse ESCs into 2C-like cells and improves somatic cell reprogramming efficiency. Co-overexpression of Nelfa and Bcl2 activates the 2C-like state in ESCs and gives the cells dual cell fate potential. These findings provide insights into the roles of Nelfa and Bcl2 in the establishment and regulation of the totipotent state in mouse ESCs.
CELL PROLIFERATION
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Tengteng Xu, Chengxue Liu, Mengya Zhang, Xin Wang, Yelian Yan, Qiuchen Liu, Yangyang Ma, Tong Yu, Anucha Sathanawongs, Jun Jiao, Zubing Cao, Yunhai Zhang
Summary: This study found that vitrification reduces the developmental efficiency of pig blastocysts by decreasing transcriptional activity during embryonic genome activation and disrupting gene expression. These findings suggest that vitrification impairs genome activation in pig embryos.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Febrimarsa, Sebastian G. Gornik, Sofia N. Barreira, Miguel Salinas-Saavedra, Christine E. Schnitzler, Andreas D. Baxevanis, Uri Frank
Summary: The chemical modification of DNA called 6mA randomly accumulates in early embryos of Hydractinia. Knocking down Alkbh1, a protein involved in the clearance of 6mA, leads to higher levels of 6mA and delayed activation of zygotic transcription. This suggests that 6mA inhibits gene expression in early embryonic genomes, and defects in 6mA clearance may be linked to certain pathologies.
Article
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Feifei Zuo, Junyi Jiang, Haipeng Fu, Kun Yan, Robert Liefke, Jing Zhang, Yaqiang Hong, Zai Chang, Nian Liu, Zhanxin Wang, Qiaoran Xi
Summary: In this study, TRIM66 and DAX1 were identified as negative regulators of the 2C-like state in murine embryonic stem cells. mESCs lacking TRIM66 or DAX1 function showed bidirectional embryonic and extraembryonic differentiation potential. These findings have implications for the practical application of totipotent-like cells.
Article
Biology
Marissa M. Gaskill, Tyler J. Gibson, Elizabeth D. Larson, Melissa M. Harrison
Summary: In Drosophila, besides Zelda, another pioneer factor GAF plays a crucial role in development during the maternal-to-zygotic transition. By activating widespread zygotic transcription and remodeling the chromatin accessibility landscape, GAF and Zelda together drive the development through this critical period.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Alberto De Iaco, Evarist Planet, Andrea Coluccio, Sonia Verp, Julien Duc, Didier Trono
Article
Virology
Alberto De Iaco, Jeremy Luban
Article
Virology
Alberto De Iaco, Federico Santoni, Anne Vannier, Michel Guipponi, Stylianos Antonarakis, Jeremy Luban
Article
Virology
Alberto De Iaco, Jeremy Luban
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Alberto De Iaco, Alexandre Coudray, Julien Duc, Didier Trono
Article
Biology
Gernot Wolf, Alberto de Iaco, Ming-An Sun, Melania Bruno, Matthew Tinkham, Don Hoang, Apratim Mitra, Sherry Ralls, Didier Trono, Todd S. Macfarlan