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First published online August 26, 2004

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Histone code under development

During early mammalian embryogenesis, widespread changes in protein synthesis patterns accompany the transformation of the fertilized oocyte into a totipotent zygote. On p. 4449, Scott Coonrod and colleagues describe how dynamic alterations in specific histone modifications may underlie this genomic reprogramming. Core-histone modifications are epigenetic changes that can, by altering local and global chromatin organization, regulate genomic function. The authors use modification-selective antibodies to examine global histone modifications in early mouse embryos and report that methylation of lysine 9 and 4 in histone H4 and H3, respectively, and phosphorylation of serine 1 in histone H4 and H2A do not change during the oocyte-to-embryo transition. By contrast, hyperacetylation of histone H4 and methylation of arginine 17 and 3 in histone H3 and H4, respectively, are reduced at the transition, specifically during metaphase. This indicates that the cytoplasm of the egg and early embryo may contain unidentified deacetylase and demethylase activities. Knowing more about these enzymes and the histone modifications that occur during early embryogenesis could lead to improved animal cloning techniques.

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Related articles in JCS:

Dynamic alterations of specific histone modifications during early murine development

Olga F. Sarmento, Laura C. Digilio, Yanming Wang, Julie Perlin, John C. Herr, C. David Allis, and Scott A. Coonrod
JCS 2004 117: 4449-4459. [Abstract] [Full Text]  

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in JCS Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?