Involved in the control of transcription and replication, developmental reprogramming, retroelement silencing and other genomic activities, DNA methylation is a crucial epigenetic regulatory mechanism. For embryonic development to occur during mammalian development, a certain DNA methylation pattern in germ cells must be created. In other animals, DNA methylation in germ cells is less well understood. We examined the single-cell methylome of chicken diplotene oocytes to fill this gap. We developed a methylation-based segmentation of the chicken genome and discovered methylated gene promoters exclusive to oocytes after thoroughly characterising the methylation patterns in these cells. Our results demonstrate that methylation patterns in these cells closely reflect chromosomal distribution seen in somatic tissues, despite the creation of a particular transcriptionally hyperactive genome architecture in chicken diplotene oocytes.
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Journal of Forensic Medicine received 165 citations as per Google Scholar report
