#TAGC16 Shorts are brief summaries of presentations at The Allied Genetics Conference, a combined meeting of seven genetics research communities held July 13-17, 2016 in Orlando, Florida.
One of the earliest events in development is the switch to self sufficiency. Soon after an egg is fertilized, the new individual must activate its genome and cease relying on maternally-provided RNA, a change known as the maternal-to-zygotic transition. Epigenetic reprogramming is central to this process; epigenetic marks, including DNA methylation and histone modifications, must be completely remodeled for the zygotic genome to begin expressing its own RNA. In her presentation at TAGC, Jadiel Wasson from the Katz lab at Emory University described what happens when some of that epigenetic machinery is missing.
Wasson studies a demethylase called KDM1A that removes the H3K4me2 epigenetic mark from histones; this mark is thought to be a “memory mark” that helps daughter cells know what genes to transcribe. She and her colleagues showed that KDM1A is expressed in oocytes and in early embryos. To determine its function in development, they deleted KDM1A in mouse oocytes, meaning it was missing when the zygote was fertilized; this was lethal. They performed crosses where the male had normal KDM1A, but the female lost KDM1A in the germline. Embryos from these crosses failed to undergo the maternal-to-zygotic transition and did not survive.
Wasson then deleted KDM1A in the female germline in a way that resulted in embryos with only a partial loss of KDM1A function. The majority of these mice died during embryogenesis, but a few survived to adulthood. These animals displayed extreme obsessive-compulsive tendencies as measured by a marble burying assay; in fact, they displayed more severe obsessive-compulsive behavior than an established mouse model of OCD (see Shmelkov 2010). This provides a striking case of altered epigenetic programming at fertilization that leads to a behavioral phenotype weeks later.
Control mouse in the marble burying assay
Mutant mouse in the marble burying assay
Top: marbles before assay; Middle: marbles after control mouse; Bottom: marbles after mutant mouse
Development (M): Development and Morphogenesis.
M270 Wasson: KDM1A required for maternal-to-zygotic transition and proper genome reprogramming after fertilization
CITATIONS
Shmelkov, S.V., Hormigo, A., Jing, D., Proenca, C.C., Bath, K.G., Milde, T., Shmelkov, E., Kushner, J.S., Baljevic, M., Dincheva, I., Murphy, A.J., Valenzuela, D.M., Gale, N.W., Yancopoulos, G.D., Ninan, I., Rafii, F.S.L.S. 2010. Slitrk5 deficiency impairs corticostriatal circuitry and leads to obsessive-compulsive–like behaviors in mice. Nat Med, 16:598-602. doi: 10.1038/nm.2125 http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/v16/n5/full/nm.2125.html
Wasson, J.A., Simon, A.K., Myrick, D.A. Wolf, G., Driscoll, S., Pfaff, S.L., Macfarlan, T.S., Katz, D.J. 2016. Maternally provided LSD1/KDM1A enables the maternal-to-zygotic transition and prevents defects that manifest postnatally. eLife, 5e:08848. doi: 10.7554/eLife.08848 https://elifesciences.org/content/5/e08848
Scientific Editor and Programs Manager. Genetics and Molecular Biology PhD. Find me on Twitter: @_sbay
View all posts by Sarah Bay »Read more in
-
Early Career Leadership Spotlight: Julio Molina Pineda
We’re taking time to get to know the members of the GSA’s Early Career Scientist Committees. Join us to learn more about our early career scientist advocates. Julio Molina Pineda Policy and Advocacy University of Arkansas Research Interest My research interests focus on using model organisms to genetically dissect complex traits related to human disease. My…
-
Early Career Leadership Spotlight: Peiwei Chen
We’re taking time to get to know the members of the GSA’s Early Career Scientist Committees. Join us to learn more about our early career scientist advocates. Peiwei Chen Accessibility Subcommittee California Institute of Technology Research Interest Far from a harmonious place, the genome is a battleground, where every bit of DNA fights for inheritance and…
-
#Dros23 GSA Poster Award winners
We are pleased to announce the GSA Poster Award winners from the 64th Annual Drosophila Research Conference! Undergraduate and graduate student members of the GSA were eligible for the awards, and a hard-working team of postdocs volunteered their time as judges. Congratulations to all! Undergraduate Students 1st Place: Sofia Karter Lopez, University of Toronto “Rab11 mediates E-cadherin recycling during…
-
Congratulations to the Fall 2022 DeLill Nasser Awardees!
GSA is pleased to announce the recipients of the DeLill Nasser Award for Professional Development in Genetics for Fall 2022! Given twice a year to graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, DeLill Nasser Awards support attendance at meetings and laboratory courses. The award is named in honor of DeLill Nasser, a long-time GSA supporter and National Science Foundation…
-
New editors join GENETICS, G3 editorial boards
Several new editors are joining the GSA Journals. We’re excited to welcome Ricardo Zayas to the GENETICS editorial board under the Molecular Genetics of Development section, and on the G3: Genes|Genomes|Genetics board, we welcome Polly Campbell, Kevin Vogel, Joe Parker, and Ricardo Mallarino. Ricardo Zayas Associate Editor Ricardo Zayas is a Professor of Biology at…
-
Worms and Flies Provide Key Clues to Medical Mystery
This article is part of a series of posts outlining the history and impact of research in experimental organisms. The series is developed in collaboration with the GSA Public Communications and Engagement Committee. By the time Bertrand Might was six months old, it was clear something was amiss. His muscles weren’t developing normally; he was…
-
Congratulations to the 2023 Early Career Leadership Program Cohort!
The Genetics Society of America (GSA) is excited to announce the latest cohort of student, postdoc, and early-career research leaders joining the Early Career Leadership Program. Participants receive training and mentoring while serving on committees charged with understanding the needs, interests, concerns, and challenges of early career scientist members of the GSA. As part of…
-
GSA LOCI: Local Outreach Community Initiatives @ GSA Conferences
Highlights: Local Outreach Community Initiatives (LOCI): The Genetics Society of America is committed to supporting the communities of the host cities of our conferences. This new year, we are excited to reconnect with our GSA community in meaningful ways within and beyond our existing programming. The GSA membership has created a caring and supportive environment…
-
New members of the GSA Board of Directors: 2023–2025
We are pleased to announce the election of five new leaders to the GSA Board of Directors: 2023 Vice President/2024 President Mariana Wolfner Distinguished Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics and Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow My research has focused on the genes and pathways that mediate sexual development and reproduction, primarily in Drosophila. From…
-
Lance David Miller: Lighting Your Own Fire by Finding the Right Resources
By Daniel J. Gironda In the Paths to Science Policy series, we talk to individuals who have a passion for science policy and are active in advocacy through their various roles and careers. The series aims to inform and guide early career scientists interested in science policy. This series is brought to you by the…
-
Graça Almeida-Porada: The Importance of Communication in a Technologically Advancing World
By Daniel J. Gironda In the Paths to Science Policy series, we talk to individuals who have a passion for science policy and are active in advocacy through their various roles and careers. The series aims to inform and guide early career scientists interested in science policy. This series is brought to you by the…