Chromatin Control of Developmental Dynamics and Plasticity

Publication date: 26 September 2016
Source:Developmental Cell, Volume 38, Issue 6
Author(s): Matteo Perino, Gert Jan C. Veenstra
Chromatin structure is intimately connected with gene expression and cell identity. Here we review recent advances in the field and discuss how establishment of cell identity during development is accompanied by large-scale remodeling of the epigenetic landscape and how this remodeling drives and supports lineage specification and maintenance. We discuss maternal control of the early embryonic epigenetic landscape, selective usage of enhancer clusters via 3D chromatin contacts leading to activation of transcription factor networks, and conserved regulation of developmental pathways by specific DNA demethylation of key regulatory regions. Together, these processes establish an epigenetic framework regulating different phases of embryonic development.

Teaser

In this review, Perino and Veenstra discuss the remodeling of the epigenetic landscape that accompanies establishment of cell identity during embryonic development. They discuss maternal contributions, selective usage of enhancer clusters via 3D chromatin contacts, and the role of DNA demethylation in the regulation of developmental pathways.


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