BRG1 Chromatin Remodeling ATPase Balances Germ Layer Patterning by Amplifying the Transcriptional Burst at Midblastula Transition [BRG1]

ABSTRACT: Zygotic gene expression programs control cell differentiation in vertebrate development. In Xenopus, these programs are initiated by local induction of regulatory genes through maternal signaling activities in the wake of zygotic genome activation (ZGA) at the midblastula transition (MBT). These programs lay down the vertebrate body plan through gastrulation and neurulation, and are accompanied by massive changes in chromatin structure, which increasingly constrain cellular plasticity. Here we report on developmental functions for Brahma related gene 1 (BRG1), a key component of embryonic SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complexes. Carefully controlled, global BRG1 protein depletion in X. tropicalis and X. laevis leads to embryonic lethality from gastrulation on, similar to BRG1-/- mice. Transcriptome analysis at late blastula, before development becomes arrested, indicates predominantly a role for BRG1 in transcriptional activation of a limited set of genes involved in pattern specification processes and nervous system development. Mosaic analysis by targeted microinjection defines BRG1 as an essential amplifier of gene expression in dorsal (BCNE and Nieuwkoop centers) and ventral (BMP/Vent) signaling centers. By tissue transplantation, we define BRG1-dependent activation of chordin (chrd) transcription in the prospective neural plate (BCNE region) as an essential step in head formation. BRG1-sensitive genes are typically characterized by a robust burst of transcription at MBT. These results define a systemic function for BRG1-containing SWI/SNF chromatin remodelers as a transcriptional amplifier of the gene network that initiates embryonic patterning.

ORGANISM(S): Xenopus tropicalis

PROVIDER: GSE82017 | GEO | 2017/04/20

SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA323627

REPOSITORIES: GEO