Verification of germline development ensured by centromere DNA methylation.

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K05956
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 38060:Applied molecular and cellular biology-related
• Research Institution: Kitasato University
• Principal Investigator: Yamazaki Taiga 北里大学, 北里大学メディカルセンター, 上級研究員 (90524231)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: DNAメチル化 / エピゲノム編集 / セントロメア / 生殖細胞 / 初期胚発生

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this study, we established an epigenome editing technology that can modify DNA methylation of specific genomic sequences and applied it to mouse embryos to analyze DNA methylation that plays an important role in early embryonic development. We found that fertilized embryos which normally show hypomethylated centromeres, exhibited significant developmental defects when hypomethylated centromeres were artificially methylated by epigenome-editing. This result indicates that centromere DNA hypomethylation functions as an important epigenome in early mouse embryogenesis.

Free Research Field

分子細胞生物学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本解析手法は特定ゲノム配列のエピゲノムと、それに関与する生物学的事象との因果関係を明らかにする事が可能であり、本研究によって実際の実施例が示された事は特筆すべき成果である。また、本手法は学術的な知見を得るための手法のみならず、遺伝子発現制御を介した疾患治療などの応用研究につながる可能性を秘めている事から今後の発展が期待される。