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The Spatio-Temporal Control of Zygotic Genome Activation

48 Pages Posted: 23 Dec 2018 Last revised: 27 Dec 2018 Publication Status: Under Review

See all articles by George Gentsch

George Gentsch

The Francis Crick Institute - Developmental Biology Laboratory

Nick D. L. Owens

Pasteur Institute - Department of Stem Cell and Developmental Biology

James C. Smith

The Francis Crick Institute - Developmental Biology Laboratory

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Abstract

One of the earliest events in embryonic development is zygotic genome activation (ZGA). According to nascent transcript profiling most zygotic genes are inactive until the mid-blastula transition (MBT), and it has been suggested that only at this stage is the cell cycle slow enough, and the nuclear-to-cytoplamic (N/C) ratio of maternal repressors low enough, for bulk transcription to occur. Here we resolve the ZGA of the frog Xenopus tropicalis in time and space. We detect a gradual increase in quantity and length of RNA polymerase II-mediated elongation before the MBT, indicating that ZGA does not depend on a specific N/C ratio, and we observe that the size of newly transcribed genes is not necessarily constrained by cell cycle duration. We also reveal that canonical Wnt, Nodal and BMP signaling jointly generate most of the spatiotemporal dynamics of regional ZGA, converting the egg into a multi-axial embryo with proportionate germ layers.

Suggested Citation

Gentsch, George and Owens, Nick D. L. and Smith, James C., The Spatio-Temporal Control of Zygotic Genome Activation. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3305587 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3305587
This version of the paper has not been formally peer reviewed.

George Gentsch

The Francis Crick Institute - Developmental Biology Laboratory ( email )

1 Midland Road
London, NW1 1AT
United Kingdom

Nick D. L. Owens

Pasteur Institute - Department of Stem Cell and Developmental Biology

Paris, 75015
France

James C. Smith (Contact Author)

The Francis Crick Institute - Developmental Biology Laboratory ( email )

1 Midland Road
London, NW1 1AT
United Kingdom