Mammalian sperm chromatin as a model for chromatin function in DNA degradation and DNA replication

Reproductive biology is considered a specialty field, however, an argument can be made that it is instead generally applicable to many fields of biology. The one-cell embryo is presented here as a model system for the study of eukaryotic DNA replication, apoptotic DNA degradation, and signaling mechanisms between the cytoplasm and nucleus. Two unique aspects of this system combine to make it particularly useful for the study of chromatin function. First, the evolutionary pressure that lead to the extreme condensation of mammalian sperm DNA resulted in a cell with virtually inert chromatin, no DNA replication or transcription ongoing in the sperm cell, and all of the cells in a G(0) state. This chromatin is suddenly transformed into actively transcribing and replicating DNA upon fertilization. Therefore, the sperm chromatin is poised to become active but does not yet possess sufficient components present in somatic chromatin structure for all these processes. The second unique aspect of this system is that the one cell embryo houses two distinct nuclei, termed pronuclei, through the first round of DNA synthesis. This means the sperm cell can be experimentally manipulated to test the affects of the various treatments on the biological functions of interest. Experimental manipulations of the system have already revealed a certain level of plasticity in the coordination of both the timing of DNA synthesis in the two pronuclei and in the response to cellular signals by each pronucleus involved with the progression through the G1/S checkpoint, including the degradation of DNA in the paternal pronucleus. The fact that two nuclei in the same cytoplasm can undergo different responses infers a level of autonomy in the nuclear control of the cell cycle. Thus, the features of mammalian fertilization can provide unique insights for the normal biology of the cell cycle in somatic cells.