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Mouse embryonic development requires transposable element expression

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The expression of murine endogenous retrovirus-L (MERVL) is transiently upregulated at the two-cell stage in mouse embryos, coinciding with zygotic genome activation and the acquisition of totipotency; however, its role in embryogenesis remains elusive. We show that nuclear expression of MERVL is required for accurate regulation of the host transcriptome and chromatin state during preimplantation development.

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Fig. 1: Nuclear MERVL transcripts are essential for normal development in mice.

References

  1. Macfarlan, T. S. et al. Embryonic stem cell potency fluctuates with endogenous retrovirus activity. Nature 49, 57–63 (2012). This paper reports that the expression of MERVL and its long terminal repeat (LTR) promoter contribute to the regulation of host cell fate in mice.

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This is a summary of: Sakashita, A. et al. Transcription of MERVL retrotransposons is required for preimplantation embryo development. Nat. Genet. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-023-01324-y (2023).

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Mouse embryonic development requires transposable element expression. Nat Genet 55, 367–368 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-023-01326-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-023-01326-w

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