| Author |
Li, H; Sun, JT; Dong, Y; Huang, YX; Wu, L; Xi, CX; Su, ZQ; Xiao, YH; Zhang, CY; Liang, YW; Li, YJ; Lin, ZY; Shen, L; Zuo, YX; Abudureheman, A; Yin, JQ; Wang, H; Kong, XY; Le, RR; Gao, SR; Zhang, YP |
| Abstract |
Multiple chromatin modifiers associated with H3K9me3 play important roles in the transition from embryonic stem cells to 2-cell (2C)-like cells. However, it remains elusive how H3K9me3 is remodeled and its association with totipotency. Here, we integrated transcriptome and H3K9me3 profiles to conduct a detailed comparison of 2C embryos and 2C-like cells. Globally, H3K9me3 is highly preserved and H3K9me3 dynamics within the gene locus is not associated with gene expression change during 2C-like transition. Promoter-deposited H3K9me3 plays non-repressive roles in the activation of genes during 2C-like transition. In contrast, transposable elements, residing in the nearby regions of up-regulated genes, undergo extensive elimination of H3K9me3 and are tended to be induced in 2C-like transitions. Furthermore, a large fraction of trophoblast stem cell-specific enhancers undergo loss of H3K9me3 exclusively in MERVL+/Zscan4(+) cells. Our study therefore reveals the unique H3K9me3 profiles of 2C-like cells, facilitating the further exploration of totipotency. |
