Pluto Bioinformatics

GSE61329: Role of Tet3 and DNA replication in zygotic demethylation of both paternal and maternal genomes [RNA-seq]

Bulk RNA sequencing

With the exception of imprinted genes and certain repeats, DNA methylation is globally erased during pre-implantation development. Recent studies have suggested that Tet3-mediated oxidation of 5-methylcytosine (5mC) and DNA replication-dependent dilution both contribute to global paternal DNA demethylation, but demethylation of the maternal genome occurs via replication. Here we present genome-scale DNA methylation maps for both the paternal and maternal genomes of Tet3-depleted and/or DNA replication-inhibited zygotes. In both genomes, we found that inhibition of DNA replication blocks DNA demethylation independently from Tet3 function, and that Tet3 facilitates DNA demethylation by coupling with DNA replication. For both, our data indicate that replication-dependent dilution is the major contributor to demethylation, but Tet3 plays an important role, particularly at certain loci. Our study therefore both defines the respective functions of Tet3 and DNA replication in paternal DNA demethylation and reveals an unexpected contribution of Tet3 to demethylation of the maternal genome. SOURCE: Yi Zhang HHMI/Boston Children's Hospital/Harvard Medical School