Nucleosome organization of mouse embryos during pre-implantation development

Abstract Sexual reproduction begins with sperm–oocyte fusion to form a zygote, where chromatin undergoes dramatic reorganization to establish totipotency. Although nucleosomes- the basic units of eukaryotic chromatin and key epigenetic regulators- are extensively remodeled during early embryogenesis...

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Main Authors: Jitao Zeng, Xiaojuan Tu, Siming Qu, Xichan Chen, Ying Wang, Xiaona Liu, Enchuan Kang, Yi Tian, Qianming Xiang, Binbin Lai, Weiwu Gao, Bing Ni, Wei He
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-07-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-05642-5
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author Jitao Zeng
Xiaojuan Tu
Siming Qu
Xichan Chen
Ying Wang
Xiaona Liu
Enchuan Kang
Yi Tian
Qianming Xiang
Binbin Lai
Weiwu Gao
Bing Ni
Wei He
author_facet Jitao Zeng
Xiaojuan Tu
Siming Qu
Xichan Chen
Ying Wang
Xiaona Liu
Enchuan Kang
Yi Tian
Qianming Xiang
Binbin Lai
Weiwu Gao
Bing Ni
Wei He
author_sort Jitao Zeng
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Sexual reproduction begins with sperm–oocyte fusion to form a zygote, where chromatin undergoes dramatic reorganization to establish totipotency. Although nucleosomes- the basic units of eukaryotic chromatin and key epigenetic regulators- are extensively remodeled during early embryogenesis, their dynamic repositioning mechanisms and biological implications remain unclear. Here, we employed single-cell MNase sequencing (scMNase-seq) to map genome-wide nucleosome positioning and chromatin accessibility in individual mammalian embryos. We found that nucleosome positioning mirrored somatic cell patterns until the 4-cell stage, with nucleosome depletion and phasing at CTCF sites not fully established until morula formation. By integrating H3K4me3 localization and transcriptomic data, we revealed that nucleosome sparsity at transcription start sites (TSS) and flanking regions correlated with expression levels of genes critical for preimplantation development. Notably, these nucleosome-depleted regions likely serve as regulatory hubs influencing histone modification dynamics. Our study systematically delineates nucleosome reorganization principles during mammalian embryogenesis and provides a high-resolution resource for understanding chromatin remodeling in early development.
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institution Kabale University
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spelling doaj-art-057288b85cb54abeaf8f9ec936c849b22025-08-20T03:37:22ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-07-0115111710.1038/s41598-025-05642-5Nucleosome organization of mouse embryos during pre-implantation developmentJitao Zeng0Xiaojuan Tu1Siming Qu2Xichan Chen3Ying Wang4Xiaona Liu5Enchuan Kang6Yi Tian7Qianming Xiang8Binbin Lai9Weiwu Gao10Bing Ni11Wei He12Reproductive Medical Center, Southwest Hospital, Army Medical UniversityReproductive Medical Center, Southwest Hospital, Army Medical UniversityOrgan Transplantation Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical UniversityInstitute of Immunology People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and Department of Immunology, College of Basic Medicine, Army Medical University (Third Military Medical University)Reproductive Medical Center, Southwest Hospital, Army Medical UniversityReproductive Medical Center, Southwest Hospital, Army Medical UniversityReproductive Medical Center, Southwest Hospital, Army Medical UniversityInstitute of Immunology People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and Department of Immunology, College of Basic Medicine, Army Medical University (Third Military Medical University)Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Peking University First HospitalDepartment of Dermatology and Venereology, Peking University First HospitalInstitute of Immunology People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and Department of Immunology, College of Basic Medicine, Army Medical University (Third Military Medical University)Department of Pathophysiology, College of High Altitude Military Medicine, Army Medical UniversityReproductive Medical Center, Southwest Hospital, Army Medical UniversityAbstract Sexual reproduction begins with sperm–oocyte fusion to form a zygote, where chromatin undergoes dramatic reorganization to establish totipotency. Although nucleosomes- the basic units of eukaryotic chromatin and key epigenetic regulators- are extensively remodeled during early embryogenesis, their dynamic repositioning mechanisms and biological implications remain unclear. Here, we employed single-cell MNase sequencing (scMNase-seq) to map genome-wide nucleosome positioning and chromatin accessibility in individual mammalian embryos. We found that nucleosome positioning mirrored somatic cell patterns until the 4-cell stage, with nucleosome depletion and phasing at CTCF sites not fully established until morula formation. By integrating H3K4me3 localization and transcriptomic data, we revealed that nucleosome sparsity at transcription start sites (TSS) and flanking regions correlated with expression levels of genes critical for preimplantation development. Notably, these nucleosome-depleted regions likely serve as regulatory hubs influencing histone modification dynamics. Our study systematically delineates nucleosome reorganization principles during mammalian embryogenesis and provides a high-resolution resource for understanding chromatin remodeling in early development.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-05642-5scMNase-seqEmbryosNucleosome positionChromatin organizationH3K4me3
spellingShingle Jitao Zeng
Xiaojuan Tu
Siming Qu
Xichan Chen
Ying Wang
Xiaona Liu
Enchuan Kang
Yi Tian
Qianming Xiang
Binbin Lai
Weiwu Gao
Bing Ni
Wei He
Nucleosome organization of mouse embryos during pre-implantation development
Scientific Reports
scMNase-seq
Embryos
Nucleosome position
Chromatin organization
H3K4me3
title Nucleosome organization of mouse embryos during pre-implantation development
title_full Nucleosome organization of mouse embryos during pre-implantation development
title_fullStr Nucleosome organization of mouse embryos during pre-implantation development
title_full_unstemmed Nucleosome organization of mouse embryos during pre-implantation development
title_short Nucleosome organization of mouse embryos during pre-implantation development
title_sort nucleosome organization of mouse embryos during pre implantation development
topic scMNase-seq
Embryos
Nucleosome position
Chromatin organization
H3K4me3
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-05642-5
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