Transcription of MERVL retrotransposons is required for preimplantation embryo development.

ABSTRACT: Zygotic genome activation (ZGA) is a critical postfertilization step that promotes totipotency and allows different cell fates to emerge in the developing embryo. MERVL (murine endogenous retrovirus-L) is transiently upregulated at the two-cell stage during ZGA. Although MERVL expression is widely used as a marker of totipotency, the role of this retrotransposon in mouse embryogenesis remains elusive. Here, we show that full-length MERVL transcripts, but not encoded retroviral proteins, are essential for accurate regulation of the host transcriptome and chromatin state during preimplantation development. Both knockdown and CRISPRi-based repression of MERVL result in embryonic lethality due to defects in differentiation and genomic stability. Furthermore, transcriptome and epigenome analysi

SUBMITTER: Sakashita A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10011141 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature