Repressor elements provide insights into tissue development and phenotypes in pigs

Repressor elements significantly influence economically relevant phenotypes in pigs; however, their precise roles and characteristics are inadequately understood. In the present study, we employed H3K27me3 profiling, assay for transposase-accessible chromatin with highthroughput sequencing (ATAC-seq), and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) data across six tissues derived from three embryonic layers to identify and map 2 034 super repressor elements (SREs) and 22 223 typical repressor elements (TREs) in the pig genome. Notably, many repressor elements were conserved across mesodermal and ectodermal tissues. SREs exhibited tight regulation of their target genes, affecting a limited number of genes within a specific genomic region with pronounced effects, while TREs exerted broader but weaker regulation over a wider range of target genes. Furthermore, in neuronal tissues, genes regulated by repressor elements started to be repressed during the differentiation of stem cells into progenitor cells. Notably, analysis showed that many repressor elements exhibited cooperative and additive effects on the modulation of KLF4 expression. This research provides the first comprehensive map of pig repressor elements, serving as an essential reference for future studies on repressor elements.