| Data source |
SRA: PRJNA734348
|
| Description |
Unlike that of mammals, the total DNA methylome of many cold-blooded vertebrates is globally inherited from gametes to early embryos. In zebrafish, this is however accompanied by sweeping “dememorization†of enhancers prior to fertilization for sperm and just after fertilization for oocyte, as they undergo full methylation and are not demethylated again until phylotypic stage. The significance of both global methylome inheritance and enhancer dememorization in early embryos remains largely unknown. Adding to the puzzles, the zygotic mutant zebrafish of dnmt1, the major DNA methylation maintenance methyltransferase, surprisingly can develop to term. To solve the role of DNA methylation in early development, we generated zebrafish embryos derived from dnmt1-knocking down oocytes using a recently developed method OMIS (Oocyte Microinjection in situ), which successfully eliminated DNA methylation before zygotic genome activation. dnmt1-deficient embryos failed to initiate epiboly and died around gastrulation. This is in part caused by activation of immune response and p53-regulated apoptosis, likely triggered by the derepression of transposable elements. Single cell RNA-seq further revealed defective differentiation in these mutants. DNA methylation is also required for the establishment of repressive histone marks H3K27me3 and H2AK119ub. Strikingly, the loss of DNA methylation leads to extensive derepression of somatic genes and enhancers, which acquire ectopic H3K27ac, accessible chromatin, and H3K4me3. These somatic enhancers are preferentially CG-rich and are bound by CG-containing TFs. By contrast, embryonic enhancers are generally CG-poor, methylation-insensitive, and are bound by CG-less TFs. Hence, the global DNA methylome inheritance is essential for vertebrate early development, and enhancer dememorization resets an epigenetic gate that separates embryonic and somatic programs. |
| Key word |
active DNA demethylation; transcription factors; gene-expression; methylation; binding; genome; specification; mechanism; dynamics; h3k4me3 |
| Publication |
Wu X, Zhang H, Zhang B, Zhang Y et al. Methylome inheritance and enhancer dememorization reset an epigenetic gate safeguarding embryonic programs. Sci Adv 2021 Dec 24;7(52):eabl3858. PMID: 34936444 |
| 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. |
