Project description:Genomic imprinting is regulated by parental-specific epigenetic marks that differentiate between maternal and paternal chromosomes. Despite identical DNA sequence, the presence or absence of DNA methylation leads to the establishment of two distinct epigenetic states at Imprinting Control Regions (ICR). Here we combine targeted epigenome engineering to generate ectopic loci in the mouse embryonic stem cell genome that recapitulate the epigenetic properties of ICRs. We describe these ectopic ICRs as strong cis-regulatory sequences that can adopt and memorise one of two opposing epigenetic states, dependent of pre-imposed DNA methylation. This bistability is unique to ICRs and enabled us to systematically study the genetic and epigenetic determinants required for creating and maintaining the observed states. Through sequence manipulation we show that the ICR DNA sequence confers autonomy of ICRs and is required for creating epigenetic bistability. Genetic screens using DNA-methylation-sensitive reporters identify key components involved in regulating maintenance of epigenetic states. Besides DNMT1, UHRF1 and ZFP57, we identify novel factors that prevent switching between methylated and unmethylated states and validate two of these candidates, ATF7IP and ZMYM2, to be important for epigenetic memory at ICRs. In summary we show that the DNA sequence of ICRs provides the prerequisite for establishment of two distinct epigenetic states, while DNA and histone modifications ensure their stable propagation.
Project description:Genomic imprinting is regulated by parental-specific epigenetic marks that differentiate between maternal and paternal chromosomes. Despite identical DNA sequence, the presence or absence of DNA methylation leads to the establishment of two distinct epigenetic states at Imprinting Control Regions (ICR). Here we combine targeted epigenome engineering to generate ectopic loci in the mouse embryonic stem cell genome that recapitulate the epigenetic properties of ICRs. We describe these ectopic ICRs as strong cis-regulatory sequences that can adopt and memorise one of two opposing epigenetic states, dependent of pre-imposed DNA methylation. This bistability is unique to ICRs and enabled us to systematically study the genetic and epigenetic determinants required for creating and maintaining the observed states. Through sequence manipulation we show that the ICR DNA sequence confers autonomy of ICRs and is required for creating epigenetic bistability. Genetic screens using DNA-methylation-sensitive reporters identify key components involved in regulating maintenance of epigenetic states. Besides DNMT1, UHRF1 and ZFP57, we identify novel factors that prevent switching between methylated and unmethylated states and validate two of these candidates, ATF7IP and ZMYM2, to be important for epigenetic memory at ICRs. In summary we show that the DNA sequence of ICRs provides the prerequisite for establishment of two distinct epigenetic states, while DNA and histone modifications ensure their stable propagation.
Project description:Genomic imprinting is regulated by parental-specific epigenetic marks that differentiate between maternal and paternal chromosomes. Despite identical DNA sequence, the presence or absence of DNA methylation leads to the establishment of two distinct epigenetic states at Imprinting Control Regions (ICR). Here we combine targeted epigenome engineering to generate ectopic loci in the mouse embryonic stem cell genome that recapitulate the epigenetic properties of ICRs. We describe these ectopic ICRs as strong cis-regulatory sequences that can adopt and memorise one of two opposing epigenetic states, dependent of pre-imposed DNA methylation. This bistability is unique to ICRs and enabled us to systematically study the genetic and epigenetic determinants required for creating and maintaining the observed states. Through sequence manipulation we show that the ICR DNA sequence confers autonomy of ICRs and is required for creating epigenetic bistability. Genetic screens using DNA-methylation-sensitive reporters identify key components involved in regulating maintenance of epigenetic states. Besides DNMT1, UHRF1 and ZFP57, we identify novel factors that prevent switching between methylated and unmethylated states and validate two of these candidates, ATF7IP and ZMYM2, to be important for epigenetic memory at ICRs. In summary we show that the DNA sequence of ICRs provides the prerequisite for establishment of two distinct epigenetic states, while DNA and histone modifications ensure their stable propagation.
Project description:DNA methylation is essential for embryonic development and implicated in the regulation of genomic imprinting. Genomic imprinting is established in the germline through parent-specific methylation of distinct cis-regulatory DNA sequences, called imprinting control regions (ICRs). Which factors bind to the opposing chromatin states at ICRs within the same nuclear environment was not systematically addressed. By using a proximity labelling approach with the methylation sensitive transcription factor ZFP57, we identified ATF7IP and other major components of the epigenetic maintenance machinery at ICRs.
Project description:Genomic imprinting is an epigenetic mechanism that results in parent-of-origin dependent gene expression, primarily driven by differential DNA methylation between the maternal and paternal alleles. To identify genomic imprinting in pigs, we generated parthenogenetic porcine embryos alongside biparental normal embryos and performed whole-genome bisulfite sequencing and RNA-seq on these samples. By comparing parthenogenetic and control porcine embryos, we identified a maternally methylated region at a previously uncharacterized pig locus. Our findings provide mechanistic insights into genomic imprinting at a porcine locus.