Project Summary
During gametogenesis, germ cells undergo profound chromatin reorganisation. We have discovered that maternal gametes transmit the epigenetic H3K27me3 histone modification to the next generation. However, it remains unclear how H3K27me3 domains are established on the paternal chromosomes. Thus, we propose to unravel how paternal chromosomes establish the repressive histone mark H3K27me3. We will characterise how the chromatin state affects the activation of the zygotic genome. Our investigations will reveal novel insights and ultimately may advance reproductive and regenerative medicine.
Selected project-relevant publications
- Ibarra-Morales D., Rauer M., Quarato P., Rabbani L., Zenk F., Schulte-Sasse M., Cardamone F., Gomez-Auli A., Cecere G. and Iovino N. (2021) Histone variant H2A.Z regulates zygotic genome activation. Nat Commun 12, 7002.
- Zenk F., Zhan Y., Kos P., Löser E., Atinbayeva N., Schächtle M., Tiana G., Giorgetti L. and Iovino N. (2021) HP1 drives de novo 3D genome reorganization in early Drosophila embryos. Nature doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03460-z.
- Samata M., Alexiadis A., Richard G., Georgiev P., Nuebler J., Kulkarni T., Renschler G., Basilicata M.F., Zenk F.L., Shvedunova M., Semplicio G., Mirny L., Iovino N. and Akhtar A. (2020) Intergenerationally Maintained Histone H4 Lysine 16 Acetylation Is Instructive for Future Gene Activation. Cell 182, 127-144.e123.
- Skvortsova K., Iovino N. and Bogdanovic O. (2018) Functions and mechanisms of epigenetic inheritance in animals. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 19, 774-790.
- Zenk F., Loeser E., Schiavo R., Kilpert F., Bogdanovic O. and Iovino N. (2017) Germ line-inherited H3K27me3 restricts enhancer function during maternal-to-zygotic transition. Science 357, 212-216.
- Hau M., Zenk F., Ganesan A., Iovino N. and Jung M. (2017) Cellular analysis of the action of epigenetics drugs and probes. Epigenetics 12, 308-322.
- Loser E., Latreille D. and Iovino N. (2016) Chromatin Preparation and Chromatin Immuno-precipitation from Drosophila Embryos. Methods Mol Biol 1480, 23-36.
- Iovino N. (2014) Drosophila epigenome reorganization during oocyte differentiation and early embryogenesis. Brief Funct Genomics 13, 246-253.
- Iovino N., Ciabrelli F. and Cavalli G. (2013) PRC2 controls Drosophila oocyte cell fate by repressing cell cycle genes. Dev Cell 26, 431-439.
- Iovino N. and Cavalli G. (2011) Rolling ES cells down the Waddington landscape with Oct4 and Sox2. Cell 145, 815-817.
- Iovino N., Pane A. and Gaul U. (2009) miR-184 has multiple roles in Drosophila female germline development. Dev Cell 17, 123-133.
- Aravin A., Gaidatzis D., Pfeffer S., Lagos-Quintana M., Landgraf P., Iovino N., Morris P., Brownstein M.J., Kuramochi-Miyagawa S., Nakano T., Chien M., Russo J.J., Ju J., Sheridan R., Sander C., Zavolan M. and Tuschl T. (2006) A novel class of small RNAs bind to MILI protein in mouse testes. Nature 442, 203-207.
