Genomic prevalence of heterochromatic H3K9me2 and transcription do not discriminate pluripotent from terminally differentiated cells.

ABSTRACT: Cellular differentiation entails reprogramming of the transcriptome from a pluripotent to a unipotent fate. This process was suggested to coincide with a global increase of repressive heterochromatin, which results in a reduction of transcriptional plasticity and potential. Here we report the dynamics of the transcriptome and an abundant heterochromatic histone modification, dimethylation of histone H3 at lysine 9 (H3K9me2), during neuronal differentiation of embryonic stem cells. In contrast to the prevailing model, we find H3K9me2 to occupy over 50% of chromosomal regions already in stem cells. Marked are most genomic regions that are devoid of transcription and a subgroup of histone modifications. Importantly, no global increase occurs during differentiation, but discrete local changes

SUBMITTER: Lienert F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3107198 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature