PLX110987

GSE79280: Parental allele specific single-cell transcriptome dynamics reveal incomplete epigenetic reprogramming in human female germ cells

• Organsim human
• Type RNASEQ
• Target gene
• Project ARCHS4

In contrast to mouse, human female germ cells develop asynchronously. Germ cells transition to meiosis, erase genomic imprints, and reactivate the X chromosome. It is unknown if these events all appear asynchronously, and how they relate to each other. Here we combine exome sequencing of human fetal and maternal tissues with single-cell RNA-sequencing of five donors. We reconstruct full parental haplotypes and quantify changes in parental allele specific expression, genome-wide. First we distinguish PGC, pre-meiotic, and meiotic transcriptional stages. Next we demonstrate that germ cells from various stages monoallelically express imprinted genes from e.g. the SNURF-SNRPN cluster and confirm it by methylation patterns. Finally we show that 30% of the PGCs, are still reactivating their inactive X chromosome and that this is related to transcriptional stage, and not to embryonic age. Altogether, we reveal the complexity and cell-to-cell heterogeneity of transcriptional and epigenetic remodelling in female human germ cells. SOURCE: Abel VertesyAlexander van Oudenaarden Hubrecht Institute