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Updated: Jan 30, 2026

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Published on: September 23, 2011
Sex-specific histone modifications in mouse fetal and neonatal germ cells
Yukiko Kawabata1, Asuka Kamio1,2, Yuko Jincho1
1Department of Bioscience, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan.
Aims:
Epigenetic signatures of germline cells are dynamically reprogrammed to induce appropriate differentiation, development and sex specification. We investigated sex-specific epigenetic changes in mouse fetal germ cells (FGCs) and neonatal germ cells.
Materials & Methods:
Six histone marks in mouse E13.5 FGCs and P1 neonatal germ cells were analyzed by chromatin immunoprecipitation and sequencing. These datasets were compared with transposase-accessible chromatin sites, DNA methylation and transcriptome.
Results:
Different patterns of each histone mark were detected in female and male FGCs, and H3K4me3/H3K27me3 bivalent marks were enriched in different chromosomal regions of female and male FGCs.
Conclusion:
Our results suggest that histone modifications may affect FGC gene expression following DNA methylation erasure, contributing to the differentiation into female and male germ cells.
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