Loss of maternal ATRX results in centromere instability and aneuploidy in the mammalian oocyte and pre-implantation embryo.

ABSTRACT: The α-thalassemia/mental retardation X-linked protein (ATRX) is a chromatin-remodeling factor known to regulate DNA methylation at repetitive sequences of the human genome. We have previously demonstrated that ATRX binds to pericentric heterochromatin domains in mouse oocytes at the metaphase II stage where it is involved in mediating chromosome alignment at the meiotic spindle. However, the role of ATRX in the functional differentiation of chromatin structure during meiosis is not known. To test ATRX function in the germ line, we developed an oocyte-specific transgenic RNAi knockdown mouse model. Our results demonstrate that ATRX is required for heterochromatin formation and maintenance of chromosome stability during meiosis. During prophase I arrest, ATRX is necessary to recruit the tran

SUBMITTER: Baumann C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2944790 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature