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 & Tissue Engineering
Hanwen Yu, Manqi Chen, Yuanlang Hu, Songbang Ou, Xiu Yu, Shiqi Liang, Niannian Li, Mingzhu Yang, Xuhui Kong, Chuanbo Sun, Shiqi Jia, Qingxue Zhang, Lin Liu, Laurence D. Hurst, Ruiqi Li, Wenjun Wang, Jichang Wang
Summary: Reprogramming of H3K9me3-dependent heterochromatin plays an important role in early human development, affecting the interaction between specific promoters and enhancers, regulating zygotic genome activation and transcription of inner cell mass-specific genes.
Review
Cell Biology
Trisha A. Macrae, Julie Fothergill-Robinson, Miguel Ramalho-Santos
Summary: Cells differentiate and progress through development guided by a dynamic chromatin landscape that mediates gene expression programmes. The bivalent chromatin state, characterized by both gene activation and repression histone modifications, is crucial for cell lineage specification. Recent research has provided new insights into the molecular basis of bivalent chromatin and its roles in development and cancer.
NATURE REVIEWS MOLECULAR CELL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Ceren Canse, Ecem Yildirim, Aylin Yaba
Summary: Cell-cell junctions play crucial roles in maintaining cell integrity, polarity, cell fate specification, and morphogenesis during embryonic development. By orchestrating mechanotransduction, morphokinetics, and signaling networks, these junctions, along with cell adhesion molecules and cytoskeletal elements, regulate the development of early embryos. This review focuses on the structure, organization, function, and expression pattern of cell-cell junction complexes during early embryonic development. Understanding the importance of dynamic junction formation and maturation processes will provide insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying developmental abnormalities in early embryos.
FRONTIERS IN ENDOCRINOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Thomas Dahlet, Matthias Truss, Ute Frede, Hala Al Adhami, Anais F. Bardet, Michael Dumas, Judith Vallet, Johana Chicher, Philippe Hammann, Sarah Kottnik, Peter Hansen, Uschi Luz, Gonzalo Alvarez, Ghislain Auclair, Jochen Hecht, Peter N. Robinson, Christian Hagemeier, Michael Weber
Summary: During mouse development, the transcription factor E2F6 is crucial in targeting CpG island DNA methylation and epigenetic silencing to germline genes, especially in early embryonic cells. The cooperation between E2F6 and MGA is essential for silencing a subgroup of germline genes, dependent on the E2F6 marked box domain. E2F6 is required for initiating epigenetic silencing in early embryonic cells but becomes dispensable for maintenance in differentiated cells.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Biology
Michael Borg, Ranjith K. Papareddy, Rodolphe Dombey, Elin Axelsson, Michael D. Nodine, David Twell, Frederic Berger
Summary: The alternation between morphologically distinct haploid and diploid life forms in plants and algae is controlled by epigenetic modifications such as the loss of H3K9me2 and global loss of H3K27me3. These events lead to significant changes in chromatin accessibility and transcriptional reprogramming, guiding the transition between generations in flowering plants.
Article
Cell Biology
Rui Gao, Shiyang Zeng, Dongxu Yang, Xiaocui Li, Wenqiang Liu, Yawei Gao, Dandan Bai, Linfeng Zhang, Chuan Chen, Yunzhe Kang, Beiying Wang, Wei Hong, Mingzhu Wang, Jiqing Yin, Hong Wang, Qiaolin Deng, Shaorong Gao, Yong Zhang, Jiayu Chen
Summary: Histone modifications play critical roles in regulating gene expression during early embryo development. This study provides the first genome-wide profiles of three key histone modifications in human primordial germ cells, revealing the positive correlation between H3K4me3 and gene expression, as well as the important roles of H3K27me3 in regulating specific promoters and X chromosome reactivation. The repressive marks of H3K9me3 and H3K27me3 jointly regulate demethylation-resistant regions in hPGCs.
Article
Biology
Kei Fukuda, Chikako Shimura, Hisashi Miura, Akie Tanigawa, Takehiro Suzuki, Naoshi Dohmae, Ichiro Hiratani, Yoichi Shinkai
Summary: The study reveals that H3K9me2 in mouse embryonic stem cells is regulated by multiple MTases, with different MTases controlling H3K9me2 and transcription in the A and B compartments. Additionally, decreased H3K9me2 is associated with a more active compartmental state and transcriptional activation, contributing to the setting of inactive compartments. This suggests that H3K9 methyltransferases play a crucial role in maintaining genome organization in transcriptionally inactive compartments.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Sonam Raj, Sushil K. Jaiswal, Melvin L. DePamphilis
Summary: This review article addresses the enigmatic role of the p53 transcription factor and tumor suppressor in programmed cell death during embryonic development. Contradictory results regarding the dependence of pluripotent embryonic stem cells on p53 for cell death are reconciled based on experimental conditions. The review concludes that p53 is not required for mouse embryonic development, but can accelerate programmed cell death in certain conditions. Additionally, DNA damage in differentiated cells induces p53-dependent cell cycle arrest and senescence.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Alice Wenger, Alva Biran, Nicolas Alcaraz, Alba Redo-Riveiro, Annika Charlotte Sell, Robert Krautz, Valentin Flury, Nazaret Reveron-Gomez, Victor Solis-Mezarino, Moritz Voelker-Albert, Axel Imhof, Robin Andersson, Joshua M. Brickman, Anja Groth
Summary: In this study, it was discovered that asymmetric segregation of parental histones during DNA replication impacts the mitotic inheritance of histone modifications and alters the epigenome. These findings highlight the importance of maintaining a balanced and dynamic chromatin landscape in supporting cell differentiation.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sam Buckberry, Xiaodong Liu, Daniel Poppe, Jia Ping Tan, Guizhi Sun, Joseph Chen, Trung Viet Nguyen, Alex de Mendoza, Jahnvi Pflueger, Thomas Frazer, Dulce B. Vargas-Landin, Jacob M. Paynter, Nathan Smits, Ning Liu, John F. Ouyang, Fernando J. Rossello, Hun S. Chy, Owen J. L. Rackham, Andrew L. Laslett, James Breen, Geoffrey J. Faulkner, Christian M. Nefzger, Jose M. Polo, Ryan Lister
Summary: Cells undergo a significant epigenome reconfiguration during reprogramming to hiPS cells. The differences in epigenomes between hiPS cells and hES cells affect the function of hiPS cells. Researchers characterized the emergence and persistence of these epigenetic differences and developed a TNT reprogramming strategy that corrects epigenetic memory and aberrations, making hiPS cells more similar to hES cells at a molecular and functional level.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Sally Martin, Daniel Poppe, Nelly Olova, Conor O'Leary, Elena Ivanova, Jahnvi Pflueger, Jennifer Dechka, Rebecca K. K. Simmons, Helen M. M. Cooper, Wolf Reik, Ryan Lister, Ernst J. J. Wolvetang
Summary: DNA methylation is directly related to neuronal genome regulation and maturation. Mouse ESC-derived neurons could recapitulate the in vivo mCH levels over a similar time period. This enables them to be used as a model system to study epigenome maturation over development.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Julia Arand, H. Rosaria Chiang, David Martin, Michael P. Snyder, Julien Sage, Renee A. Reijo Pera, Mark Wossidlo
Summary: Tet enzymes play crucial roles in mouse embryonic development, with Tet2 deficiency showing the most severe phenotype. They function in the consecutive oxidation of 5-methylcytosine to 5-carboxylcytosine, necessary for embryonic genome activation and expression of transposable elements.
Review
Plant Sciences
Elizabeth A. Hemenway, Mary Gehring
Summary: The establishment, maintenance, and removal of epigenetic modifications in plants provide an additional layer of regulation beyond genetic factors, allowing for control of developmental processes and adaptation to the environment. Epigenetic inheritance, which can refer to information not encoded in the DNA sequence inherited between generations or epigenetic modifications reset between generations, is of great interest in understanding the functions and mechanisms in plants. This article discusses examples of epigenetic dynamics and maintenance during growth and development stages and their functional consequences, as well as the dynamic nature of epigenetic states in response to stress and their impact on transposable element regulation. The emerging area of research focuses on understanding how epigenetic resetting occurs during normal development and in response to stress.
ANNUAL REVIEW OF PLANT BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Xinxin Wang, Xin Ma, Gaobo Wei, Weirui Ma, Zhen Zhang, Xuepeng Chen, Lei Gao, Zhenbo Liu, Yue Yuan, Lizhi Yi, Jun Wang, Toshinobu Tokumoto, Junjiu Huang, Dahua Chen, Jian Zhang, Jiang Liu
Summary: The study demonstrates the important roles of DNA methylation in zebrafish germ cell development and sexual plasticity, with primordial germ cells undergoing DNA methylation reprogramming at 9 dpf and the inhibition of DNA methyltransferase activity preventing female-to-male sex transition in zebrafish.
GENOMICS PROTEOMICS & BIOINFORMATICS
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Ethan L. Stewart, Daniel Croll, Mark H. Lendenmann, Andrea Sanchez-Vallet, Fanny E. Hartmann, Javier Palma-Guerrero, Xin Ma, Bruce A. Mcdonald
MOLECULAR PLANT PATHOLOGY
(2018)
Article
Biology
Parvathy Krishnan, Lukas Meile, Clemence Plissonneau, Xin Ma, Fanny E. Hartmann, Daniel Croll, Bruce A. McDonald, Andrea Sanchez-Vallet
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Parvathy Krishnan, Xin Ma, Bruce A. McDonald, Patrick C. Brunner
BMC EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
(2018)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Xin Ma, Beat Keller, Bruce A. McDonald, Javier Palma-Guerrero, Thomas Wicker
MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS
(2018)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Samadrita Bhattacharyya, Jialei Duan, Lin Wang, Boxun Liz, Minoti Bhakta, Antonio Fernandez-Perez, Gary C. Hon, Nikhil Munshi
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2019)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Carolina Sardinha Francisco, Xin Ma, Maria Manuela Zwyssig, Bruce A. McDonald, Javier Palma-Guerrero
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2019)
Article
Cell Biology
Jialei Duan, Boxun Li, Minoti Bhakta, Shiqi Xie, Pei Zhou, Nikhil V. Munshi, Gary C. Hon
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Guoqiang Li, Yaping Liu, Yanxiao Zhang, Naoki Kubo, Miao Yu, Rongxin Fang, Manolis Kellis, Bing Ren
Article
Cell Biology
Shiqi Xie, Daniel Armendariz, Pei Zhou, Jialei Duan, Gary C. Hon
Article
Plant Sciences
Xin Ma, Jasmin Wiedmer, Javier Palma-Guerrero
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2020)
Article
Cell Biology
Yong Fan, Congru Li, Wendi Pei, Tao Tan, Rong Li, Jie Qiao, Yang Yu
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Xinxin Wang, Xin Ma, Gaobo Wei, Weirui Ma, Zhen Zhang, Xuepeng Chen, Lei Gao, Zhenbo Liu, Yue Yuan, Lizhi Yi, Jun Wang, Toshinobu Tokumoto, Junjiu Huang, Dahua Chen, Jian Zhang, Jiang Liu
Summary: The study demonstrates the important roles of DNA methylation in zebrafish germ cell development and sexual plasticity, with primordial germ cells undergoing DNA methylation reprogramming at 9 dpf and the inhibition of DNA methyltransferase activity preventing female-to-male sex transition in zebrafish.
GENOMICS PROTEOMICS & BIOINFORMATICS
(2021)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Jialei Duan, Gary C. Hon
Summary: FBA is a flexible and streamlined package for quality control, quantification, demultiplexing, multiplet detection, clustering, and visualization of feature barcoding assays.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Leqian Yu, Yulei Wei, Jialei Duan, Daniel A. Schmitz, Masahiro Sakurai, Lei Wang, Kunhua Wang, Shuhua Zhao, Gary C. Hon, Jun Wu
Summary: The study developed an effective three-dimensional culture strategy to generate blastocyst-like structures in vitro which resemble human blastocysts. These structures, termed 'human blastoids', are readily accessible, scalable, versatile, and perturbable alternative to blastocysts for studying early human development, understanding early pregnancy loss, and gaining insights into early developmental defects.
Article
Cell Biology
Sanjiv Risal, Congru Li, Qing Luo, Romina Fornes, Haojiang Lu, Gustaw Eriksson, Maria Manti, Claes Ohlsson, Eva Lindgren, Nicolas Crisosto, Manuel Maliqueo, Barbara Echiburu, Sergio Recabarren, Teresa Sir Petermann, Anna Benrick, Nele Brusselaers, Jie Qiao, Qiaolin Deng, Elisabet Stener-Victorin
Summary: The transgenerational effects of PCOS in female progeny are being investigated. This study examines whether sons born to mothers with PCOS transmit reproductive and metabolic phenotypes to their male progeny. The results show that PCOS-sons are more likely to be obese and have dyslipidemia, and a mouse model confirms that these dysfunctions are passed down to multiple generations. The study highlights the potential risk of transmission of reproductive and metabolic dysfunction through the male germline.
CELL REPORTS MEDICINE
(2023)