Projects per year
Abstract
In many animal models, primordial germ cell (PGC) development depends on maternally deposited germ plasm, which prevents somatic cell fate. Here, we show that PGCs respond to regulatory information from the germ plasm in two distinct phases using two distinct mechanisms in zebrafish. We demonstrate that PGCs commence zygotic genome activation together with the somatic blastocysts with no demonstrable differences in transcriptional and chromatin opening. Unexpectedly, both PGC and somatic blastocysts activate germ-cell-specific genes, which are only stabilized in PGCs by cytoplasmic germ plasm determinants. Disaggregated perinuclear relocalization of germ plasm during PGC migration is regulated by the germ plasm determinant Tdrd7 and is coupled to dramatic divergence between PGC and somatic transcriptomes. This transcriptional divergence relies on PGC-specific cis-regulatory elements characterized by promoter-proximal distribution. We show that Tdrd7-dependent reconfiguration of chromatin accessibility is required for elaboration of PGC fate but not for PGC migration.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 641-656.e5 |
Journal | Developmental Cell |
Volume | 56 |
Issue number | 5 |
Early online date | 1 Mar 2021 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 8 Mar 2021 |
Keywords
- ATAC-seq
- DNA methylation
- RNA-seq
- ZGA
- buckyball
- chromatin
- dazl
- germ granules
- primordial germ cells
- transcription
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Molecular Biology
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)
- Developmental Biology
- Cell Biology
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Dive into the research topics of 'Germ cell differentiation requires Tdrd7-dependent chromatin and transcriptome reprogramming marked by germ plasm relocalization'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 2 Finished
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The core promoter: an unexplored regulatory level of transcription during vertebrate development
THE WELLCOME TRUST, Imperial College
1/12/15 → 31/10/21
Project: Research
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H2020_ITN_ZENCODE
European Commission - Management Costs, European Commission
1/01/15 → 31/12/18
Project: Research