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Slide Preparation Method to Preserve Three-dimensional Chromatin Architecture of Testicular Germ Cells
Published on: January 10, 2014
Nucleosomes in mammalian sperm: conveying paternal epigenetic inheritance or subject to reprogramming between
Laura Gaspa-Toneu1, Antoine Hfm Peters1
1Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Maulbeerstrasse 66, 4058 Basel, Switzerland; Faculty of Sciences, University of Basel, 4056 Basel, Switzerland.
Abstract:
The genome of mammalian sperm is largely packaged by sperm-specific proteins termed protamines. The presence of some residual nucleosomes has, however, emerged as a potential source of paternal epigenetic inheritance between generations. Sperm nucleosomes bear important regulatory histone marks and locate at gene-regulatory regions, functional elements, and intergenic regions. It is unclear whether sperm nucleosomes are retained at specific genomic locations in a deterministic manner or are randomly preserved due to inefficient exchange of histones by protamines. Recent studies indicate heterogeneity in chromatin packaging within sperm populations and an extensive reprogramming of paternal histone marks post fertilization. Obtaining single-sperm nucleosome distributions is fundamental to estimating the potential of sperm-borne nucleosomes in instructing mammalian embryonic development and in the transmission of acquired phenotypes.
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