GAF is essential for zygotic genome activation and chromatin accessibility in the early Drosophila embryo [RNA-seq]
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
ORGANISM(S): Drosophila melanogaster
PROVIDER: GSE152772 | GEO | 2021/03/03
REPOSITORIES: GEO
Similar Datasets
Project description:Following fertilization, the genomes of the germ cells are reprogrammed to form the totipotent embryo. Pioneer transcription factors are essential for remodeling the chromatin and driving the initial wave of zygotic gene expression. In Drosophila melanogaster, the pioneer factor Zelda is essential for development through this dramatic period of reprogramming, known as the maternal-to-zygotic transition (MZT). However, it was unknown whether additional pioneer factors were required for this transition. We identified an additional maternally encoded factor required for development through the MZT, GAGA Factor (GAF). GAF is necessary to activate widespread zygotic transcription and to remodel the chromatin accessibility landscape. We demonstrated that Zelda preferentially controls expression of the earliest transcribed genes, while genes expressed during widespread activation are predominantly dependent on GAF. Thus, progression through the MZT requires coordination of multiple pioneer-like factors, and we propose that as development proceeds control is gradually transferred from Zelda to GAF.
2021-03-03 | GSE152771 | GEO
Project description:Following fertilization, the genomes of the germ cells are reprogrammed to form the totipotent embryo. Pioneer transcription factors are essential for remodeling the chromatin and driving the initial wave of zygotic gene expression. In Drosophila melanogaster, the pioneer factor Zelda is essential for development through this dramatic period of reprogramming, known as the maternal-to-zygotic transition (MZT). However, it was unknown whether additional pioneer factors were required for this transition. We identified an additional maternally encoded factor required for development through the MZT, GAGA Factor (GAF). GAF is necessary to activate widespread zygotic transcription and to remodel the chromatin accessibility landscape. We demonstrated that Zelda preferentially controls expression of the earliest transcribed genes, while genes expressed during widespread activation are predominantly dependent on GAF. Thus, progression through the MZT requires coordination of multiple pioneer-like factors, and we propose that as development proceeds control is gradually transferred from Zelda to GAF.
2021-03-03 | GSE152770 | GEO
Project description:Pioneer factors such as Zelda initiate zygotic transcription within Drosophila early embryos, but whether other factors also support this dynamic patterning process is unclear. Odd-paired (Opa) is a zinc-finger transcription factor expressed during cellularization, shown to act as timing factor to control pair-rule to segmental patterning transition along the anterior-posterior (AP) axis. We found Opa regulates expression through an enhancer active along the dorso-ventral axis (sog_Distal), specifically, to support its late embryonic expression. Opa chromatin immunoprecipitation identified occupancy at this enhancer sequence as well widespread binding throughout the genome, comparable to Zelda. Furthermore, chromatin assays (ATAC-seq) demonstrate that Opa, like Zelda, influences accessibility and has both common as well as distinct target sequences. opa mutants also exhibit DV and AP patterning changes suggesting Opa acts broadly. This study suggests Opa is a late-acting, pioneer factor whose action follows Zelda to herald in a second wave of zygotic gene expression. NIH Grants R35GM118146 and R03HD097535 to A.S.
2020-08-02 | GSE140722 | GEO
Project description:The earliest stages of development in most metazoans are driven by maternally deposited proteins and mRNAs, with widespread transcriptional activation of the zygotic genome occurring hours after fertilization, at a period known as the maternal-to-zygotic transition (MZT). In Drosophila, the MZT is preceded by the transcription of a small number of genes that initiate sex determination, patterning and other essential developmental processes. The zinc-finger transcription factor Zelda (ZLD) plays a key role in the transcriptional activation of these earliest-expressed genes. To better understand the mechanisms of ZLD activation and the range of its targets, we used chromatin immunoprecipitation coupled with high-throughput sequencing (ChIP-Seq) to map regions bound by ZLD prior to (mitotic cycles 8 and 9), during (mitotic cycles 13 and early 14) and after (late mitotic cycle 14) the MZT. Although only a handful of genes are transcribed prior to mitotic cycle 10, we identified thousands of regions bound by ZLD in cycle 8-9 embryos, most of which remain bound through mitotic cycle 14. As expected, these ZLD-bound regions include the promoters and enhancers of the small subset of genes transcribed at this early stage. However we also observed ZLD bound at cycle 8-9 to the promoters of a large fraction of the several thousand genes whose first transcription does not occur until roughly an hour and four mitotic cycles later. These early ZLD-bound regions include virtually all of the thousands of known and presumed enhancers bound at cycle 14 by the transcription factors that regulate patterned gene activation during the MZT. The association between early ZLD binding and MZT activity is so strong that ZLD binding alone can be used to identify active promoters and regulatory sequences with high specificity and selectivity. This strong early association of ZLD with regions not active until the MZT suggests that ZLD is not only required for the earliest wave of transcription, but also plays a major role in activating the genome at the MZT. Genome-wide mapping of Zelda in wild-type Drosophila melanogaster embryos prior (mitotic cycles 8-9), during (cycles 13-14), and after (late cycle 14) maternal-to-zygotic transition
2011-07-18 | E-GEOD-30757 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:In nearly all metazoans, the earliest stages of development are controlled by maternally deposited mRNAs and proteins. The zygotic genome only becomes transcriptionally active hours later. Transcriptional activation is tightly coordinated with the degradation of maternally provided mRNAs during this maternal-to-zygotic transition (MZT). In Drosophila melanogaster, the transcription factor Zelda plays an essential role in widespread activation of the zygotic genome. While Zelda expression is required both maternally and zygotically, the mechanisms by which it functions both during and after the MZT remain unclear. Zelda is a large protein with six C2H2 zinc fingers, but no additional identified domains or predicted enzymatic activities. Using Cas9-mediated genome editing to generate targeted mutations in Zelda, we determined the functional relevance of protein domains conserved amongst Zelda orthologs. Generating these mutations in vivo revealed that neither a conserved N-terminal zinc finger nor an acidic patch were required for activity. Similarly, using a variety of Cas9-enabled approaches we showed that a previously identified splice isoform of zelda is dispensable for viability, and the predicted protein product is not expressed at detectable levels. By contrast, we identified a highly conserved zinc-finger domain that is essential for the maternal, but not zygotic functions of Zelda. A mutation in this zinc-finger domain does not interfere with the capacity of Zelda to activate transcription, but rather leads to a hyperactive form of the protein and enhanced Zelda-dependent gene expression. Embryos inheriting this allele from their mothers die late in embryogenesis. These data define a protein domain critical for controlling Zelda activity and, for the first time, identify a separation between the maternal and zygotic requirements for Zelda. This demonstrates that highly regulated levels of Zelda activity are essential for establishing the developmental program during the MZT and that failure to precisely execute this program leads to embryonic lethality.
2017-11-28 | GSE103914 | GEO
Project description:We used FAIRE-seq to perform genome-wide profiling of open chromatin in 2-3 hour Drosophila embryos lacking maternal ZLD (zldM-) and in paired control embryos (yw). We demonstrate that ZLD is required to establish or maintain specific regions of open chromatin. Using single embryo RNA-seq data (from stage 5 yw and zldM- embryos) we show that loci that lose accessibility in zldM- embryos require ZLD for robust expression of associated genes. By comparing our FAIRE peaks to publicly available ChIP data (Xu et al. 2014) we demonstrate that ZLD is required for binding of the transcription factor Bicoid. To our surprise, not all ZLD-bound loci are less accessible in the mutant, suggesting that these regions rely on additional factors for open chromatin. These constitutively accessible ZLD-bound sites are enriched for the GAGA factor (GAF) binding motif, and we therefore propose that GAF may provide this additional function. We conclude that ZLD functions like a pioneer factor to define the cis-regulatory regions that drive gene expression during the MZT. Open chromatin profiling of 2-3 hour Drosophila embryos: embryos lacking maternal ZLD (zldM-, 3 replicates) and paired control embryos (yw, 2 replicates); Genomic DNA Inputs. Sequencing performed on Illumina HiSeq 2000.
2015-08-06 | E-GEOD-65837 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Pioneer factors such as Zelda (Zld) help initiate zygotic transcription in Drosophila early embryos, but whether other factors support this dynamic process is unclear. Odd-paired (Opa), a zinc-finger transcription factor expressed at cellularization, controls the transition of genes from pair-rule to segmental patterns along the anterior-posterior axis. Finding that Opa also regulates expression through enhancer sog_Distal along the dorso-ventral axis, we hypothesized Opa’s role is more general. Chromatin-immunoprecipitation (ChIP-seq) confirmed its in vivo binding to sog_Distal but also identified widespread binding throughout the genome, comparable to Zld. Furthermore, chromatin assays (ATAC-seq) demonstrate that Opa, like Zld, influences chromatin accessibility genome-wide at cellularization, suggesting both are pioneer factors with common as well as distinct targets. Lastly, embryos lacking opa exhibit widespread, late patterning defects spanning both axes. Collectively, these data suggest Opa is a general timing factor and likely late-acting pioneer factor that drives a secondary wave of zygotic gene expression contributor: Theodora Koromila (ATAC-seq-RNA-seq) contributor: Fan Gao (Bioinformatic analysis) contributor: Angelike Stathopoulos (PI) contributor: Peng He (Bioinformatic analysis)
2020-08-02 | GSE153328 | GEO
Project description:During the first stages of development, the fertilized germ cells rapidly transition to totipotency. Maternally deposited mRNAs encode the proteins necessary for reprogramming the transcriptionally quiescent zygotic genome during this maternal-to-zygotic transition (MZT). The transcription factor Zelda is essential for this reprogramming in the Drosophila embryo. Zelda is necessary for transcriptional activation of the zygotic genome, and the absence of Zelda leads to embryonic lethality during the MZT. Excess Zelda activity is also lethal to the embryo, demonstrating that Zelda levels must be precisely controlled during early development. Because Zelda is encoded by a maternally deposited mRNA, Zelda levels in the embryo are controlled at the level of translation. To understand how levels of this essential reprogramming factor were regulated to allow for embryonic development and zygotic genome activation, we investigated the factors that regulated translation of zelda. Brain Tumor (BRAT) is a translational regulator that was previously shown to bind to zelda mRNA in the embryo. We showed that BRAT functions to repress zelda translation, as embryos deficient for maternal BRAT activity prematurely express Zelda. We further showed that in the larval brain, BRAT similarly regulates Zelda levels and identified specific BRAT-binding sites that mediate these effects. Thus, BRAT regulates Zelda in multiple tissues. Because both too little and too much Zelda are lethal to the embryo, we hypothesized that precocious expression of this transcriptional activator might be capable of driving precocious activation of the zygotic genome, leading to embryonic lethality. To test this hypothesis, we performed single embryo RNA-seq at distinct nuclear cycles throughout zygotic genome activation (NC10, NC12, NC13, and NC14) in control and brat-mutant embryos. Our results conclusively demonstrated that in embryos lacking functional BRAT, Zelda target genes were not prematurely activated. Rather, these genes were expressed normally, but become significantly upregulated at nuclear cycle 14, when the division cycle slows. Our data support a model in which zygotic genome activation requires precise coordination between expression of reprogramming factors, such as Zelda, and the slowing of the cell cycle.
2022-06-17 | GSE197582 | GEO
Project description:The eukaryotic genome is organized to enable the precise regulation of gene expression required for development. This organization is established during early development when the embryo transitions from a fertilized germ cell to the totipotent zygote. To understand the factors and processes that drive genomic organization, we focused on the pioneer factor GAGA factor (GAF) that is required for early embryonic development in Drosophila. GAF transcriptionally activates the zygotic genome and is localized to subnuclear foci. We show that this non-uniform distribution is driven by binding to the highly abundant GA-satellite repeats. At GA-repeats, GAF is necessary to form heterochromatin and silence transcription. Thus, GAF is required to establish both active and silent regions. We propose that the foci formation enables GAF to have opposing transcriptional roles within a single nucleus. Our data support a model in which modulation of the subnuclear concentration of transcription factors acts to organize the nucleus into functionally distinct domains that are essential for the robust regulation of gene expression.
2023-06-27 | GSE218019 | GEO
Project description:A long-standing question in the field of embryogenesis is how the zygotic genome is precisely activated by maternal factors, allowing normal early embryonic development. We have previously shown that N6-methyladenine (6mA) DNA modification is highly dynamic in early Drosophila embryos and forms an epigenetic mark. However, little is known about how 6mA-formed epigenetic information is decoded. Here we report that the Fox-family protein Jumu binds 6mA-marked DNA and acts as a maternal factor to regulate the maternal-to-zygotic transition. We find that zelda encoding the pioneer factor Zelda is marked by 6mA. Our genetic assays suggest that Jumu controls the proper zygotic genome activation (ZGA) in early embryos, at least in part, by regulating zelda expression. Thus, our findings not only support that the 6mA-formed epigenetic can be read by specific transcription factors, but also uncover a mechanism by which the Jumu regulates ZGA partially through Zelda in early embryos.
2019-04-18 | GSE86795 | GEO