The Essential Function of SETDB1 in Homologous Chromosome Pairing and Synapsis during Meiosis.

ABSTRACT: SETDB1 is a histone-lysine N-methyltransferase critical for germline development. However, its function in early meiotic prophase I remains unknown. Here, we report that Setdb1 null spermatocytes display aberrant centromere clustering during leptotene, bouquet formation during zygotene, and subsequent failure in pairing and synapsis of homologous chromosomes, as well as compromised meiotic silencing of unsynapsed chromatin, which leads to meiotic arrest before pachytene and apoptosis of spermatocytes. H3K9me3 is enriched in centromeric or pericentromeric regions and is present in many sites throughout the genome, with a subset changed in the Setdb1 mutant. These observations indicate that SETDB1-mediated H3K9me3 is essential for the bivalent formation in early meiosis. Transcriptome analys

SUBMITTER: Cheng EC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8513770 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature