Abstract
Sperm contributes genetic and epigenetic information to the embryo to efficiently support development. However, the mechanism underlying such developmental competence remains elusive. Here, we investigated whether all sperm cells have a common epigenetic configuration that primes transcriptional program for embryonic development. Using calibrated ChIP-seq, we show that remodelling of histones during spermiogenesis results in the retention of methylated histone H3 at the same genomic location in most sperm cell. This homogeneously methylated fraction of histone H3 in the sperm genome is maintained during early embryonic replication. Such methylated histone fraction resisting post-fertilisation reprogramming marks developmental genes whose expression is perturbed upon experimental reduction of histone methylation. A similar homogeneously methylated histone H3 fraction is detected in human sperm. Altogether, we uncover a conserved mechanism of paternal epigenetic information transmission to the embryo through the homogeneous retention of methylated histone in a sperm cells population.
Highlights
Sperm contributes genetic and epigenetic information to the embryo to efficiently support development
In particular the notion that sperm-derived histones are randomly retained along the genome has gained support, leading to the proposal that modified histones cannot be the basis for the epigenetic information required for embryo development[14]
The particular core histone remodelling event occurring during Xenopus laevis spermiogenesis enabled us to refine epigenetic maps of the sperm by identifying genomic sites where most sperm of a population harbours a given epigenetic feature
Summary
Sperm contributes genetic and epigenetic information to the embryo to efficiently support development. Intra cytoplasmic sperm injection to eggs demonstrated that almost every sperm cell, regardless of its ability to fertilise an egg, is competent to support development[10] This implies that sperm-derived epigenetic features required for proper embryonic gene regulation must be present in every sperm cell of a population (i.e., homogeneous). It has not been possible to clearly distinguish whether some histones are always retained at the same position in the genome of most sperm cells and could transmit epigenetic information, or if they are randomly distributed and are unlikely to carry important epigenetic information[14,15] Addressing this question of epigenetic homogeneity in sperm is crucial, as it will establish whether modified histones have the required attributes to participate in a faithful transmission of epigenetic information from the sperm to the embryo. We provide evidence of homogeneous histone methylation in human sperm, suggesting a conservation of sperm epigenetic programming mechanisms between vertebrates
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