A methodological study of quantitative analysis of information mobility of genetic traits at critical stages of embryonic development

Abstract

The histone modification H3K4me3 plays an important role in regulating gene expression and displays extensive reprogramming on the genome during critical stages of mammalian embryonic development. In this study, we collected porcine oocytes and early fertilized embryos at various stages, and used immunofluorescence staining as well as low-cell-volume chromosome immunoprecipitation sequencing to investigate the changing pattern of key histone modification H3K4me3 during the development of early fertilized porcine embryos. The methylation levels of porcine germ cells with in vivo embryos at different developmental stages were detected by RRBS method. The HOT of embryonic stem cells (H1) to middle endoderm cells (ME), neural precursor cells (NPC), trophoblast cells (TBL), and mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) was analyzed by in-depth investigation of the dynamic law of change of the genetic traits (HOT) during the development and differentiation of embryonic development in the critical period. The results showed that the failure of H3K4me3 broad to narrow peak conversion on the promoter of ZGA-related genes at the 4-Cell stage in the knockdown group was detected by immunofluorescence staining as well as ChIP-seq. These results suggest that H3K4me3 affects early embryonic development mainly by influencing the occurrence of ZGA and thus the development of the early embryo, further suggesting the role of genetic traits in the critical period of porcine embryonic development.