Allele-specific H3K9me3 and DNA methylation co-marked CpG-rich regions serve as potential imprinting control regions in pre-implantation embryo

Abstract

Parental DNA methylation and histone modifications undergo distinct global reprogramming in mammalian pre-implantation embryos, but the landscape of epigenetic crosstalk and its effects on embryogenesis are largely unknown. Here we comprehensively analyse the association between DNA methylation and H3K9me3 reprogramming in mouse pre-implantation embryos and reveal that CpG-rich genomic loci with high H3K9me3 signal and DNA methylation level (CHM) are hotspots of DNA methylation maintenance during pre-implantation embryogenesis. We further profile the allele-specific epigenetic map with unprecedented resolution in gynogenetic and androgenetic embryos, respectively, and identify 1,279 allele-specific CHMs, including 19 known imprinting control regions (ICRs). Our study suggests that 22 ICR-like regions (ICRLRs) may regulate allele-specific transcription similarly to known ICRs, and five of them are confirmed to be important for mouse embryo development. Taken together, our study reveals the widespread existence of allele-specific CHMs and largely extends the scope of allele-specific regulation in mammalian pre-implantation embryos.