In plants and animals, embryo development becomes ultimately controlled by zygotic genes, but the timing of zygotic genome activation (ZGA) varies greatly between organisms. We recently showed that the transcriptome of young Arabidopsis embryos is dominated by maternal transcripts with a progressive ZGA under the maternal control of epigenetic pathways. In contrast, another study reported that ...

Early vertebrate embryos must achieve totipotency and prepare for zygotic genome activation (ZGA). To understand this process, we determined the DNA methylation (DNAme) profiles of zebrafish gametes, embryos at different stages, and somatic muscle and compared them to gene activity and histone modifications. Sperm chromatin patterns are virtually identical to those at ZGA. Unexpectedly, the DNA...

Following fertilization, oviparous embryos undergo rapid, mostly transcriptionally silent cleavage divisions until the mid-blastula transition (MBT), when large-scale developmental changes occur, including zygotic genome activation (ZGA) and cell cycle remodeling, via lengthening and checkpoint acquisition. Despite their concomitant appearance, whether these changes are co-regulated is unclear....

Maternal RNA/protein degradation and zygotic genome activation (ZGA), occurring during maternal-to-zygotic transition (MZT), are the first essential events for the development of pre-implantation embryos. Previously, we have shown the importance of the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) for initiation of minor ZGA at the 1-cell stage of mouse embryos. However, little is known about the mechanism...

Zygotic genome activation (ZGA) is a nuclear reprogramming event that transforms the genome from transcriptional quiescence at fertilization to robust transcriptional activity shortly thereafter. The ensuing gene expression profile in the cleavage-stage embryo establishes totipotency and is required for further development. Although little is known about the molecular basis of ZGA, oocyte-deriv...

Interchromatin granule clusters (IGCs) are universal nuclear domains. Their molecular composition and functions were studied in detail in somatic cells. Here, we studied IGCs in the nuclei of early mouse embryos during zygotic gene activation (ZGA). We found that the size of IGCs gradually increases during realization of ZGA events. Using immunocytochemical approaches, we showed that the molecu...

In mammalian oocytes, the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) is suggested to play important roles in oocyte meiosis resumption, spindle assembly, polar body emission and pronuclear formation by regulating cyclin B1 degradation. However, little is known about the direct relationship between zygotic gene activation (ZGA) and degradation of maternal proteins. Here, we investigated the role of the U...

ABSTRACT Zygotic genomic activation (ZGA) is a landmark event in the maternal-to-zygotic transition (MZT), and regulation of ZGA by maternal factors remains to be elucidated. In this study, depletion ring finger protein 114 (RNF114), ubiquitin E3 ligase, led developmental arrest two-cell mouse embryos. Using immunofluorescence transcriptome analysis, RNF114 was proven play crucial role major ZG...

Abstract Study question Whether the activation of DUX4, a key inducer in process zygotic genome (ZGA), is associated with telomere length. Summary answer Telomeres regulate expression DUX4/Dux through chromatin remodeling and are thereby involved ZGA. What known already In human early embryos, DUX4 activated as initial stage ZGA, it, turn, activates hundreds genes cleavage-stage embryo. Human l...

A conserved feature of the midblastula transition (MBT) is a requirement for a functional DNA replication checkpoint to coordinate cell-cycle remodeling and zygotic genome activation (ZGA). We have investigated what triggers this checkpoint during Drosophila embryogenesis. We find that the magnitude of the checkpoint scales with the quantity of transcriptionally engaged DNA. Measuring RNA polym...