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Updated: Aug 16, 2025
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Defining the Program of Maternal mRNA Translation during In vitro Maturation using a Single Oocyte Reporter Assay
Published on: June 16, 2021
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Transient Polycomb activity represses developmental genes in growing oocytes.
Ellen G Jarred1,2, Zhipeng Qu3, Tesha Tsai1,2
1Centre for Reproductive Health, Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Clayton, VIC, Australia.
Clinical Epigenetics
|December 21, 2022
Summary
Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) represses many developmental genes in oocytes, a function conserved in mice and humans. Loss of PRC2 in oocytes leads to de-repression of these genes, impacting offspring development.
Area of Science:
- Epigenetics
- Developmental Biology
- Genomics
Background:
- Germline epigenetic programming influences non-genetic inheritance and offspring phenotype.
- Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) loss in oocytes causes developmental issues in offspring.
- The role of PRC2 in non-imprinted gene regulation during oocyte growth and its conservation in humans is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of PRC2 in regulating non-imprinted genes during oocyte growth.
- To determine if PRC2's function in oocytes is conserved between mice and humans.
Main Methods:
- Studied PRC2 expression during mouse oocyte growth.
- Deleted Eed (a PRC2 component) in a specific window of oocyte growth.
- Analyzed gene expression and H3K27me3 marks in mouse and human oocytes.
Main Results:
- Identified a period of PRC2 expression in growing mouse oocytes.
- Deletion of Eed led to de-repression of 343 genes, many being developmental regulators and not imprinted.
- Found conserved H3K27me3 enrichment on these genes in human oocytes, indicating conserved PRC2 function.
- Observed loss of H3K27me3 and gene de-repression during pre-implantation development, suggesting transient repression by H3K27me3 in oocytes.
Conclusions:
- EED has distinct spatial and temporal functions in the female germline, repressing numerous developmental genes.
- This PRC2-mediated gene repression is conserved in both mouse and human germlines.
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