Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2023, Vol. 54 ›› Issue (2): 443-450.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2023.02.003

• REVIEW • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Research Progress of the DNA Methylation in Mammalian Oocyte and Early Embryo Development

YANG Xiaogeng1,3, ZHANG Huizhu3, LI Jian1,2,3, XIANG Hua3, HE Honghong1,2,3*   

  1. 1. Key Laboratory of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Animal Genetic Resource Reservation and Utilization of Ministry of Education, Chengdu 610041, China;
    2. Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Animal Genetic Resource Reservation and Utilization Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu 610041, China;
    3. College of Animal & Veterinary Sciences, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China
  • Received:2022-09-05 Online:2023-02-23 Published:2023-02-21

Abstract: DNA methylation is a dynamic, reversible and heritable epigenetic modification pattern that mainly occurs in mammalian primordial germ cells and early embryonic development. DNA methylation can attach to the CpG region of DNA through highly dynamic and cooperative ribozyme networks, and it can also regulate gene expression by altering functional state of the regulatory regions without affecting genetic information carried by the DNA sequence. DNA methylation is mainly involved in a variety of key physiological processes such as genomic imprinting, transposable element silencing, X-chromosome inactivation and senescence, and plays an important role in mammalian oocyte and embryo development. This review introduces the establishment and removal mechanism of DNA methylation and the biological functions, with emphasis on the dynamic processes of precise generation, maintenance, reading and deletion of DNA methylation during mammalian oocyte and embryo development, providing basis for further studies on mammalian epigenetic regulation.

Key words: DNA methylation, oocyte, embryonic development, epigenetics

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