Evolutionary transition between invertebrates and vertebrates via methylation reprogramming in embryogenesis.

ABSTRACT: Major evolutionary transitions are enigmas, and the most notable enigma is between invertebrates and vertebrates, with numerous spectacular innovations. To search for the molecular connections involved, we asked whether global epigenetic changes may offer a clue by surveying the inheritance and reprogramming of parental DNA methylation across metazoans. We focused on gametes and early embryos, where the methylomes are known to evolve divergently between fish and mammals. Here, we find that methylome reprogramming during embryogenesis occurs neither in pre-bilaterians such as cnidarians nor in protostomes such as insects, but clearly presents in deuterostomes such as echinoderms and invertebrate chordates, and then becomes more evident in vertebrates. Functional association analysis suggest

SUBMITTER: Xu X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8291442 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature