Aims: Epigenetic signatures of germline cells are dynamically reprogrammed to induce appropriate differentiation, development and sex specification. We investigated sex-specific epigenetic changes in mouse fetal germ cells (FGCs) and neonatal germ cells.
Materials & methods: Six histone marks in mouse E13.5 FGCs and P1 neonatal germ cells were analyzed by chromatin immunoprecipitation and sequencing. These datasets were compared with transposase-accessible chromatin sites, DNA methylation and transcriptome.
Results: Different patterns of each histone mark were detected in female and male FGCs, and H3K4me3/H3K27me3 bivalent marks were enriched in different chromosomal regions of female and male FGCs.
Conclusion: Our results suggest that histone modifications may affect FGC gene expression following DNA methylation erasure, contributing to the differentiation into female and male germ cells.
Keywords: ATAC-seq; DNA methylation; epigenetics; fetal germ cells; gene expression; histone modifications; sex differences; transcriptome.