Chromatin environment-dependent effects of DOT1L on gene expression in male germ cells
The H3K79 methyltransferase DOT1L is essential for multiple aspects of mammalian development where it has been shown to regulate gene expression. Here, by producing and integrating epigenomic and spike-in RNA-seq data, we decipher the molecular role of DOT1L during mouse spermatogenesis and show that it has opposite effects on gene expression depending on chromatin environment. On one hand, DOT1L represses autosomal genes that are devoid of H3K79me2 at their bodies and located in H3K27me3-rich/H3K27ac-poor environments. On the other hand, it activates the expression of genes enriched in H3K79me2 and located in H3K27me3-poor/H3K27ac-rich environments, predominantly X chromosome-linked genes, after meiosis I. This coincides with a significant increase in DOT1L expression at this stage and a genome-wide acquisition of H3K79me2, particularly on the sex chromosomes. Taken together, our results show that H3K79me2 positively correlates with male germ cell genetic program throughout spermatogenesis, with DOT1L predominantly inhibiting rather than activating gene expression. Interestingly, while DOT1L appears to directly regulate the (re)activation of X genes following meiotic sex chromosome inactivation, it also controls the timely expression of (autosomal) differentiation genes during spermatogenesis.
Authors
- Laïla El Khattabi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1546-5276)
- Julie Cocquet (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6275-5412)
- Alberto de la Iglesia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3475-2086)
- Aurora Ruiz‐Herrera (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3868-6151)
- Clémentine Lapoujade
- Guillaume Meurice (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7073-4945)
- M. Andrés Blanco (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5057-4334)
- Manon Coulée
- Clara Gobé (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5242-7426)
- Côme Ialy‐Radio (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-5260-5343)
- Pierre Fouchet
- Lucia Alvarez-Gonzalez
Institutions
- Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ES)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Inserm (FR)
- Université Paris Cité (FR)
- Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (FR)
- Université Paris-Saclay (FR)
- Sorbonne Université (FR)
- CEA Paris-Saclay - Etablissement de Fontenay-aux-roses (FR)
- Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris (FR)
- Génomique Bioinformatique et Applications (FR)
- CEA Paris-Saclay (FR)
- Institut Cochin (FR)
- Institut du Cerveau (FR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Communications Biology
- Published
- 2025-01-28
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-07393-x
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Epigenetics and DNA Methylation
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.81
Funders
- Agence Nationale de la Recherche
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale
- Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale
- Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
- Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
- Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca