Histone H3 lysine 9 trimethylation is required for suppressing the expression of an embryonically activated retrotransposon in Xenopus laevis.

ABSTRACT: Transposable elements in the genome are generally silenced in differentiated somatic cells. However, increasing evidence indicates that some of them are actively transcribed in early embryos and the proper regulation of retrotransposon expression is essential for normal development. Although their developmentally regulated expression has been shown, the mechanisms controlling retrotransposon expression in early embryos are still not well understood. Here, we observe a dynamic expression pattern of retrotransposons with three out of ten examined retrotransposons (1a11, λ-olt 2-1 and xretpos(L)) being transcribed solely during early embryonic development. We also identified a transcript that contains the long terminal repeat (LTR) of λ-olt 2-1 and shows a similar expression pattern to λ-olt

SUBMITTER: Herberg S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4585706 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature