Methylation patterns of Brahma during spermatogenesis and oogenesis: potential implications

Abstract

To compare methylation profiles and expression levels of Brahma at different stages of spermatogenesis, and to identify the methylation pattern during oogenesis, we analyzed gene expression and methylation patterns in murine germ cells at various developmental stages. The methylation levels of CpG islands within Brahma increased during spermatogenesis and decreased during oogenesis. This change in methylation pattern correlates with the change in expression of Brahma during spermatogenesis. As the degree of methylation increases, the expression decreases. The change in methylation is opposite during oogenesis, which suggests opposite expression levels.

Figure 1

Methylation status of CpG islands (black = methylated, white = non-methylated) within the promoter region of SMARCA2. CpG islands are represented by scaled lollipops obtained from using CpG Viewer software. Graph portrays percent methylation of all samples from different stages during oogenesis (a) and spermatogenesis (b) (Yellow = Germinal vesicle cells, Orange = Meiosis I stage cells, Red = Meiosis II stage cells, Aqua = Cumulus cells; Pink = Spermatogonia, Purple = Primary spermatocytes at the pachytene stage, Blue = Sertoli cells, Green = Leydig cells).