title: Polycomb function during oogenesis is required for mouse embryonic development.
abstract: In mammals, totipotent embryos are formed by fusion of highly differentiated gametes. Acquisition of totipotency concurs with chromatin remodeling of parental genomes, changes in the maternal transcriptome and proteome, and zygotic genome activation (ZGA). The inefficiency of reprogramming somatic nuclei in reproductive cloning suggests that intergenerational inheritance of germline chromatin contributes to developmental proficiency after natural conception. Here we show that Ring1 and Rnf2, components of Polycomb-repressive complex 1 (PRC1), serve redundant transcriptional functions during oogenesis that are essential for proper ZGA, replication and cell cycle progression in early embryos, and development beyond the two-cell stage. Exchange of chromosomes between control and Ring1/Rnf2-deficient metaphase II oocytes reveal cytoplasmic and chromosome-based contributions by PRC1 to embryonic development. Our results strongly support a model in which Polycomb acts in the female germline to establish developmental competence for the following generation by silencing differentiation-inducing genes and defining appropriate chromatin states.
authors.affiliation: Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, CH-4058 Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Eszter
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Posfai
authors.forename: Rico
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kunzmann
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Brochard
authors.forename: Juliette
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Salvaing
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cabuy
authors.forename: Tim C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Roloff
authors.forename: Zichuan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Mathieu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tardat
authors.forename: Maarten
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van Lohuizen
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vidal
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Beaujean
authors.forename: Antoine H F M
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Peters
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001755:Blastocyst / Q000378:metabolism; D022762:CCAAT-Enhancer-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D004261:DNA Replication; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D050991:GATA4 Transcription Factor / Q000235:genetics; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D008540:Meiosis / Q000235:genetics; D051379:Mice; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains; D009866:Oogenesis / Q000235:genetics*; D063150:Polycomb Repressive Complex 1; D063146:Polycomb-Group Proteins; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D044767:Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D015053:Zygote / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D022762:CCAAT-Enhancer-Binding Proteins; C530718:CEBPA protein, mouse; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D050991:GATA4 Transcription Factor; C484171:Gata4 protein, mouse; D063146:Polycomb-Group Proteins; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D063150:Polycomb Repressive Complex 1; C489840:Ring1 protein, mouse; C489842:Rnf2 protein, mouse; D044767:Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases