FBS Colloquia No.336Laboratory of Epigenome Dynamics
| Seminar or Lecture |
1. Role of CDYL in Mouse Sex Determination Naoki Okashita [Assistant Professor, Laboratory of Epigenome Dynamics] 2. The role of H3K9 methylation in mESCs Ryo Maeda [Project Assistant Professor, Laboratory of Epigenome Dynamics] |
|---|---|
| Date and Time | 26 Sep. 2023 (Tue), 12:15～13:00 |
| Place | 2F Seminar Room, BioSystems Building |
| Language | Japanese |
| Contact |
Shunsuke Kuroki (Associate Professor) |
1. Role of CDYL in Mouse Sex Determination
In mammals, male and female gonads initially develop from bipotential progenitor cells, which can differentiate into either testicular or ovarian cells. The decision to adopt a testicular or ovarian fate relies on robust genetic forces, i.e., activation of the testis-determining gene Sry, as well as a delicate balance of expression levels for pro-testis and pro-ovary factors. Recently, epigenetic regulation was found to be a key element in activation of Sry. Nevertheless, the mechanism by which epigenetic regulation controls the expression balance of pro-testis and pro-ovary factors remains unclear. Chromodomain Y-like protein (CDYL) is a reader protein for repressive histone H3 methylation marks. We found that the epigenetic regulator CDYL reinforced male gonadal sex determination in mice by repressing the ovary-promoting pathway. In this seminar, we will present the role of CDYL in mouse sex determination.
2. The role of H3K9 methylation in mESCs
Mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) consists of several subpopulations exhibiting distinct gene expression profiles. Around 1 % of the population spontaneously emerge as 2-cell like cells that express a set of genes activated in 2-cell–stage embryos (2-cell genes). Transition of 2-cell like cell from mESCs is important for maintaining genome stability, while long-term activation of 2-cell genes causes cell death. However, the molecular mechanism that properly regulates the expression of 2-cell genes in mESCs remains unkown. Di- and tri-methylation of lysine (H3K9methylation) are both epigenetic marks of transcriptionally repressed chromatin. Recently, we found that H3K9 methylation is essential for repression of the expression of 2-cell genes. In this talk, I will introduce the role of H3K9 methyltransferases in mESCs.
