title: Forget the Parents: Epigenetic Reprogramming in Human Germ Cells.
abstract: Epigenetic reprogramming in the germline resets genomic potential and erases epigenetic memory. Three studies by Gkountela et al., Guo et al., and Tang et al. analyze the transcriptional and epigenetic landscape of human primordial germ cells, revealing a unique transcriptional network and progressive and conserved global erasure of DNA methylation.
authors.affiliation: Epigenetics Programme, Babraham Institute, Cambridge CB22 3AT, UK. Electronic address: vonmeyenn@babraham.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Ferdinand
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: von Meyenn
authors.affiliation: Epigenetics Programme, Babraham Institute, Cambridge CB22 3AT, UK; Centre for Trophoblast Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EG, UK; Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton CB10 1SA, UK. Electronic address: wolf.reik@babraham.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Wolf
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Reik
mesh_terms: D002454:Cell Differentiation; D005260:Female; D018392:Genomic Imprinting; D005854:Germ Cells / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019009:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D019009:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit