Histone chaperone CAF-1 mediates repressive histone modifications to protect preimplantation mouse embryos from endogenous retrotransposons.

ABSTRACT: Substantial proportions of mammalian genomes comprise repetitive elements including endogenous retrotransposons. Although these play diverse roles during development, their appropriate silencing is critically important in maintaining genomic integrity in the host cells. The major mechanism for retrotransposon silencing is DNA methylation, but the wave of global DNA demethylation that occurs after fertilization renders preimplantation embryos exceptionally hypomethylated. Here, we show that hypomethylated preimplantation mouse embryos are protected from retrotransposons by repressive histone modifications mediated by the histone chaperone chromatin assembly factor 1 (CAF-1). We found that knockdown of CAF-1 with specific siRNA injections resulted in significant up-regulation of the retrotra

SUBMITTER: Hatanaka Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4664303 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature