PUBLICATION

Methylome inheritance and enhancer dememorization reset an epigenetic gate safeguarding embryonic programs

Authors
Wu, X., Zhang, H., Zhang, B., Zhang, Y., Wang, Q., Shen, W., Wu, X., Li, L., Xia, W., Nakamura, R., Liu, B., Liu, F., Takeda, H., Meng, A., Xie, W.
ID
ZDB-PUB-220303-2
Date
2021
Source
Science advances   7: eabl3858 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Liu, Feng, Meng, Anming, Takeda, Hiroyuki
Keywords
none
Datasets
GEO:GSE175951
MeSH Terms
none
PubMed
34936444 Full text @ Sci Adv
Abstract
Marked epigenetic reprogramming is essential to convert terminally differentiated gametes to totipotent embryos. It remains puzzling why postfertilization global DNA reprogramming occurs in mammals but not in nonmammalian vertebrates. In zebrafish, global methylome inheritance is however accompanied by extensive enhancer “dememorization” as they become fully methylated. By depleting maternal dnmt1 using oocyte microinjection, we eliminated DNA methylation in early embryos, which died around gastrulation with severe differentiation defects. Notably, methylation deficiency leads to derepression of adult tissue–specific genes and CG-rich enhancers, which acquire ectopic transcription factor binding and, unexpectedly, histone H3 lysine 4 trimethylation (H3K4me3). By contrast, embryonic enhancers are generally CG-poor and evade DNA methylation repression. Hence, global DNA hypermethylation inheritance coupled with enhancer dememorization installs an epigenetic gate that safeguards embryonic programs and ensures temporally ordered gene expression. We propose that “enhancer dememorization” underlies and unifies distinct epigenetic reprogramming modes in early development between mammals and nonmammals.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Show all Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping