Poised chromatin and bivalent domains facilitate the mitosis-to-meiosis transition in the male germline.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The male germline transcriptome changes dramatically during the mitosis-to-meiosis transition to activate late spermatogenesis genes and to transiently suppress genes commonly expressed in somatic lineages and spermatogenesis progenitor cells, termed somatic/progenitor genes.

Results

These changes reflect epigenetic regulation. Induction of late spermatogenesis genes during spermatogenesis is facilitated by poised chromatin established in the stem cell phases of spermatogonia, whereas silencing of somatic/progenitor genes during meiosis and postmeiosis is associated with formation of bivalent domains which also allows the recovery of the somatic/progenitor program after fertilization. Importantly, during spermatogenesis mechanisms of epigenetic regulation on sex c

SUBMITTER: Sin HS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4508805 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature