Project description:Embryonic genome activation (EGA) marks the onset of embryonic program and enables the transition toward the first lineage specification. However, the molecular features of EGA and the transcription factors (TFs) orchestrating this process remain unclear. Here, by performing single-cell RNA-seq on bovine embryos, we reveal that major EGA is asynchronously initiated among blastomeres at the 8-cell stage. Integrative analyses reveal distinctive protein accumulation compared to transcription and translation activation during bovine EGA. Furthermore, we investigate the role of SP1, a TF activated at the minor EGA stage, with motifs enriched in accessible chromatin during major EGA stage in bovine and human embryos. SP1 deficiency leads to morula arrest in bovine and impairs EGA in human embryos. Multi-omics analysis demonstrates that SP1 promotes early lineage gene expression by modulating nearby chromatin states in bovine and directly targets key EGA genes in human embryos. Together, our study delineates the dynamics of bovine EGA and uncovers the conserved and species-specific roles of SP1 in regulating EGA and early development in mammals.
Project description:Embryonic genome activation (EGA), a pivotal transcriptional event during preimplantation development, is accompanied by post-transcriptional regulation of maternal mRNAs. Disentangling the transcriptional output of the newly activated embryonic genome from concomitant post-transcriptional processing is important for decoding EGA dynamics.Here, using optimized low-input SLAM-seq (thiol(SH)-linked alkylation for the metabolic sequencing) in mouse embryos, we delineates the temporal hierarchy of EGA nascent transcription during mouse preimplantation embryogenesis and uncovers a mechanistic link between EGA and the first lineage specification, providing new insights into the regulatory architecture of early mammalian development.
Project description:Reprogramming of the gamete into a developmentally competent embryo identity is a fundamental aspect of preimplantation development. One of the most important processes of this reprogramming is the transcriptional awakening during embryonic genome activation (EGA), which robustly occurs in fertilized embryos but is defective in most somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos. However, little is known about the genome-wide underlying chromatin landscape during EGA in SCNT embryos and how it differs from a fertilized embryo. By profiling open chromatin genome-wide in both types of bovine embryos, we find that SCNT embryos fail to reprogram a subset of the EGA gene targets that are normally activated in fertilized embryos. Importantly, a small number of transcription factor (TF) motifs explain most chromatin regions that fail to open in SCNT embryos suggesting that over-expression of a limited number of TFs may provide more robust reprogramming. One such TF, the zygotically-expressed bovine gene DUXC which is a homologue of EGA factors DUX/DUX4 in mouse/human, is alone capable of activating ~84% of all EGA transcripts that fail to activate normally in SCNT embryos. Additionally, single-cell chromatin profiling revealed low intra-embryo heterogeneity but high inter-embryo heterogeneity in SCNT embryos and an uncoupling of cell division and open chromatin reprogramming during EGA. Surprisingly, our data also indicate that transcriptional defects may arise downstream of promoter chromatin opening in SCNT embryos, suggesting additional mechanistic insights into how and why transcription at EGA is dysregulated. We anticipate that our work will lead to altered SCNT protocols to increase the developmental competency of bovine SCNT embryos.
Project description:Reprogramming of the gamete into a developmentally competent embryo identity is a fundamental aspect of preimplantation development. One of the most important processes of this reprogramming is the transcriptional awakening during embryonic genome activation (EGA), which robustly occurs in fertilized embryos but is defective in most somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos. However, little is known about the genome-wide underlying chromatin landscape during EGA in SCNT embryos and how it differs from a fertilized embryo. By profiling open chromatin genome-wide in both types of bovine embryos, we find that SCNT embryos fail to reprogram a subset of the EGA gene targets that are normally activated in fertilized embryos. Importantly, a small number of transcription factor (TF) motifs explain most chromatin regions that fail to open in SCNT embryos suggesting that over-expression of a limited number of TFs may provide more robust reprogramming. One such TF, the zygotically-expressed bovine gene DUXC which is a homologue of EGA factors DUX/DUX4 in mouse/human, is alone capable of activating ~84% of all EGA transcripts that fail to activate normally in SCNT embryos. Additionally, single-cell chromatin profiling revealed low intra-embryo heterogeneity but high inter-embryo heterogeneity in SCNT embryos and an uncoupling of cell division and open chromatin reprogramming during EGA. Surprisingly, our data also indicate that transcriptional defects may arise downstream of promoter chromatin opening in SCNT embryos, suggesting additional mechanistic insights into how and why transcription at EGA is dysregulated. We anticipate that our work will lead to altered SCNT protocols to increase the developmental competency of bovine SCNT embryos.
Project description:Reprogramming of histone modification regulates gene expression and mammal preimplantation development. Trimethylation of lysine 4 on histone 3 (H3K4me3) has unique landscape in mouse oocytes and early embryos. However, the dynamics and function of H3K4me3 in livestock embryos remain unclear. To address how it is reprogrammed in domestic animals, we profiled changes of H3K4me3 during bovine early embryo development. Notably, the overall signal of H3K4me3 decreased during embryonic genome activation (EGA). By utilizing ultra-low-input native ChIP-seq (ULI-NChIP-seq) technology, we observed widespread broad H3K4me3 domains in oocytes and embryos. The signal of broad H3K4me3 began to decrease after fertilization and was lowest after EGA. Along with the removal of broad H3K4me3, deposition of H3K4me3 at promoter regions enhanced gradually. Besides, the transcriptional activity and signal of promoter H3K4me3 showed positive correlation after the erasure of broad H3K4me3 at 16-cell stage. Moreover, knocking down of demethylases KDM5A, KDM5B and KDM5C caused EGA delay and blastocyst formation failure. RNA-seq analysis revealed 47.8% down-regulated genes in knockdown embryos at 8/16-cell stage were EGA genes, and 63.1% of up-regulated genes were maternal transcripts. Particularly, the positive correlation between transcriptional activity and promoter H3K4me3 during EGA was restrained when knocking down of KDM5A, KDM5B and KDM5C. Overall, our work initiatively mapped the genomic reprogramming of H3K4me3 during bovine preimplantation development, and KDM5A/B/C played roles in modulating oocyte-to-embryonic transition (OET) through timely erasure of broad H3K4me3 domains far away from promoters.
Project description:CTCF ChIP-seq of 39 primary samples derived from human acute leukemias, namely AML, T-ALL and mixed myeloid/lymphoid leukemias with CpG Island Methylator Phenotype (CIMP). Due to patient confidentiality considerations, the raw data files for this dataset have been deposited to the EGA controlled-access archive under the accession numbers EGAS00001007094 (study); EGAD00001011059 (dataset).
Project description:Bariatric surgical techniques are known to cause weight loss and diabetes remission to varying degrees in severly obese patients. However, the mechanisms involved in the restoration of beta-cell function remain to be uncovered. In this study, the leptin-deficient ob/ob mouse was used as a model to investigate the effect of EGA bariactric surgery on pancreatic islet miRNA expression.
Project description:Reprogramming of the gamete into a developmentally competent embryo identity is a fundamental aspect of preimplantation development. One of the most important processes of this reprogramming is the transcriptional awakening during embryonic genome activation (EGA), which robustly occurs in fertilized embryos but is defective in most somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos. However, little is known about the genome-wide underlying chromatin landscape during EGA in SCNT embryos and how it differs from a fertilized embryo. By profiling open chromatin genome-wide in both types of bovine embryos, we find that SCNT embryos fail to reprogram a subset of the EGA gene targets that are normally activated in fertilized embryos. Importantly, a small number of transcription factor (TF) motifs explain most chromatin regions that fail to open in SCNT embryos suggesting that over-expression of a limited number of TFs may provide more robust reprogramming. One such TF, the zygotically-expressed bovine gene DUXC which is a homologue of EGA factors DUX/DUX4 in mouse/human, is alone capable of activating ~84% of all EGA transcripts that fail to activate normally in SCNT embryos. Additionally, single-cell chromatin profiling revealed low intra-embryo heterogeneity but high inter-embryo heterogeneity in SCNT embryos and an uncoupling of cell division and open chromatin reprogramming during EGA. Surprisingly, our data also indicate that transcriptional defects may arise downstream of promoter chromatin opening in SCNT embryos, suggesting additional mechanistic insights into how and why transcription at EGA is dysregulated. We anticipate that our work will lead to altered SCNT protocols to increase the developmental competency of bovine SCNT embryos.