Abstract
Genomic imprinting is the monoallelic expression of a gene based on parent of origin and is a consequence of differential epigenetic marking between the male and female germlines. Canonically, genomic imprinting is mediated by allelic DNA methylation. However, recently it has been shown that maternal H3K27me3 can result in DNA methylation-independent imprinting, termed "noncanonical imprinting." In this review, we compare and contrast what is currently known about the underlying mechanisms, the role of endogenous retroviral elements, and the conservation of canonical and noncanonical genomic imprinting.
Highlights
Introduction to genomic imprintingGenomic imprinting is the monoallelic expression of a gene based on parent of origin
After the discovery of the first imprinted genes, it was shown that imprinted gene expression was regulated by allelic epigenetic marks, in particular repressive DNA methylation, inherited from the parental germline (Bartolomei et al 1993; Brandeis et al 1993; Ferguson-Smith et al 1993; Li et al 1993)
The major driver of genomic imprinting has long been recognized as DNA methylation, differences in methylation between the oocyte and sperm at imprinting control regions (ICRs)
Summary
Genomic imprinting is the monoallelic expression of a gene based on parent of origin and is a consequence of differential epigenetic marking between the male and female germlines. Genomic imprinting is mediated by allelic DNA methylation. Recently it has been shown that maternal H3K27me can result in DNA methylation-independent imprinting, termed “noncanonical imprinting.”. We compare and contrast what is currently known about the underlying mechanisms, the role of endogenous retroviral elements, and the conservation of canonical and noncanonical genomic imprinting. Supplemental material is available for this article
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