GSE203588
SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex coordinates the meiotic gene activation via promoter remodeling and Meiosin activation in female germline
In mammals, primordial germ cells (PGCs) enter meiosis and differentiate to primary oocytes in embryonic ovaries. Previously, we demonstrated that SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex is required for induction of the meiotic prophase genes and meiotic initiation in female germline, using conditional knockout (CKO) mice lacking the Smarcb1 (also known as Snf5) gene, which encodes a core subunit of the SWI/SNF complex. Here, we show that the meiotic prophase genes expressed at lower levels in the Snf5 CKO females can be classified into two groups, based on the promoter accessibility. The promoters of 74% of these genes showed lower accessibility in the mutant mice whereas those of remaining genes were opened equivalently in control and the mutant mice. The former genes include the Meiosin that encodes the transcription regulator essential for activation of the meiotic prophase genes. Furthermore, the promoters of the former and the latter genes were largely modified with H3K27me3/bivalent histone marks and H3K4me3, respectively. Collectively, we provide the mechanistic model by which SWI/SNF complex remodels the meiotic prophase genes repressed by polycomb repressive complex (PRC), including the Meiosin, and then MEIOSIN together with STRA8 activates the meiotic prophase genes in female germline. Overall design: ATAC-seq (Assay for Transposase-Accessible Chromatin with high-throughput sequencing) data to profile chromatin accessibility of embryo day 15.5 (E15.5) Snf5 Ctrl and Snf5 CKO mice germ cells.