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Gene bivalency at Polycomb domains regulates cranial neural crest positional identity
Maryline Minoux1,2, Sjoerd Holwerda1, Antonio Vitobello1
1Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Maulbeerstrasse 66, 4051 Basel, Switzerland.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|April 1, 2017
Summary
Cranial neural crest cells
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Epigenetics
- Genomics
Background:
- Cranial neural crest cells are essential for craniofacial development.
- Understanding their epigenetic regulation is key to deciphering face morphogenesis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the chromatin landscapes of mouse cranial neural crest subpopulations.
- To elucidate the role of epigenetic marks in cranial neural crest cell identity.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of chromatin accessibility in vivo.
- Chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) for H3K27me3 and H3K4me2.
- Transcriptional profiling of cell subpopulations.
Main Results:
- Postmigratory cranial neural crest subpopulations showed similar chromatin accessibility but differed transcriptionally.
- Bivalent chromatin marks (H3K27me3/H3K4me2) were found at differentially silenced genes within Polycomb domains.
- These bivalent regions were established early in premigratory progenitors.
Conclusions:
- Bivalent Polycomb domains act as a chromatin template for regulating cranial neural crest cell positional identity.
- Epigenetic mechanisms, particularly Polycomb group proteins, are crucial for face morphogenesis.
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