Tanaka M, et al 2001 reported a mammalian oocyte-specific linker histone gene H1oo and described its homology with the genes for the oocyte-specific cleavage stage
histone (cs-H1) of sea urchin and the B4/H1M histone of the
frog.
Oocytes and early embryos of multiple (non-mammalian) species lack the somatic
form of the linker histone H1. The authors have
uncovered the cDNA in question in the course of a differential screening
(suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH)) project. Elucidation of the
full-length sequence of this novel 1.2 kb cDNA led to the identification of a 912
bp open reading frame. The latter encoded a novel 34 kDa linker histone protein
comprised of 304 amino acids, tentatively named H1oo. Amino acid BLAST
analysis revealed that H1oo displayed the highest sequence homology to the
oocyte-specific B4 histone of the frog, the respective central globular (putative
DNA binding) domains displaying 54% identity. Substantial homology to the
cs-H1 protein of the sea urchin oocyte was also apparent. While most oocytic
mRNAs corresponding to somatic linker histones are not polyadenylated (and
remain untranslated), the mRNAs of (non-mammalian) oocyte-specific linker
histones and of mammalian H1oo, are polyadenylated, a process driven by the
consensus signal sequence, AAUAAA, detected in the 3'-untranslated region of the
H1oo cDNA. The data suggest that the mouse oocyte-specific linker histone H1oo
(1) constitutes a novel mammalian homolog of the oocyte-specific linker histone
B4 of the frog and of the cs-H1 linker histone of the sea urchin; (2) is expressed as
early as the GV (PI) stage oocyte, persisting into the MII stage oocyte, the oocytic
polar bodies, and the two-cell embryo, extinction becoming apparent at the four-
to eight-cell embryonic stage; and (3) may play a key role in the control of gene
expression during oogenesis and early embryogenesis, presumably through the perturbation of chromatin structure.
NCBI Summary:
Histones are basic nuclear proteins that are responsible for the nucleosome structure of the chromosomal fiber in eukaryotes. Nucleosomes consist of approximately 146 bp of DNA wrapped around a histone octamer composed of pairs of each of the four core histones (H2A, H2B, H3, and H4). The chromatin fiber is further compacted through the interaction of a linker histone, H1, with the DNA between the nucleosomes to form higher order chromatin structures. The protein encoded is a replication-independent histone that is a member of the histone H1 family. This gene contains introns, unlike most histone genes. The related mouse gene is expressed only in oocytes. [provided by RefSeq, Oct 2015]
H1foo Has a Pivotal Role in Qualifying Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells. Kunitomi A et al. (2016) Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are a hallmark of ideal pluripotent stem cells. Epigenetic reprogramming of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) has not been fully accomplished. iPSC generation is similar to somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) in oocytes, and this procedure can be used to generate ESCs (SCNT-ESCs), which suggests the contribution of oocyte-specific constituents. Here, we show that the mammalian oocyte-specific linker histone H1foo has beneficial effects on iPSC generation. Induction of H1foo with Oct4, Sox2, and Klf4 significantly enhanced the efficiency of iPSC generation. H1foo promoted in vitro differentiation characteristics with low heterogeneity in iPSCs. H1foo enhanced the generation of germline-competent chimeric mice from iPSCs in a manner similar to that for ESCs. These findings indicate that H1foo contributes to the generation of higher-quality iPSCs.//////////////////
Age-associated alteration of oocyte-specific gene expression in?polar bodies: potential markers of?oocyte competence. Jiao ZX et al. OBJECTIVE: To confirm that oocyte-specific messenger RNAs are detectable in the polar body (PB) of metaphase II (MII) oocytes and determine the effect of age on oocyte-specific transcript levels. DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTING: Hospital-based academic research laboratory. ANIMAL(S): CD1 female mice. INTERVENTION(S): Aged (40-50 weeks) and young (7-9 weeks) mice were administered pregnant mare serum gonadotropin (PMSG) and hCG. Oocytes were fertilized in?vitro to assess fertilization and developmental competence. The MII oocytes were obtained and first PBs were removed. Messenger RNAs from each PB and its sibling oocyte were reverse transcribed and analyzed by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Fertilization and developmental rates and expression of six oocyte-specific genes (Bmp15, Gdf9, H1foo, Nlrp5, Tcl1, and Zp3) in PBs and sibling oocytes from young versus aged mice. RESULT(S): Oocytes from aged mice had lower developmental competence. Four genes (H1foo, Nlrp5, Tcl1, and Zp3) were differentially expressed in aged versus young oocytes. All six transcripts were present in PBs from aged and young mice at lower levels than in the sibling oocytes; transcript levels were lower in aged PBs compared with young PBs. CONCLUSION(S): There is a significant difference in the transcript levels of oocyte-specific genes in aged versus young PB that correlates with age-related decreases in oocyte competence. Differences in gene expression in PB may be potential biomarkers of MII oocyte competence.
Differential In Vivo Binding Dynamics of Somatic and Oocyte-specific Linker Histones in Oocytes and During ES Cell Nuclear Transfer Becker M, et al . The embryonic genome is formed by fusion of a maternal and a paternal genome. To accommodate the resulting diploid genome in the fertilized oocyte dramatic global genome reorganizations must occur. The higher order structure of chromatin in vivo is critically dependent on architectural chromatin proteins, with the family of linker histone proteins among the most critical structural determinants. While somatic cells contain numerous linker histone variants, only one, H1FOO, is present in mouse oocytes. On fertilization H1FOO rapidly populates the introduced paternal genome and replaces sperm-specific histone-like proteins. The same dynamic replacement occurs upon introduction of a nucleus during somatic cell nuclear transfer. To understand the molecular basis of this dynamic histone replacement process, we compared the localization and binding dynamics of somatic H1 and oocyte-specific H1FOO and identified the molecular determinants of binding to either oocyte or somatic chromatin in living cells. We find that whereas both histones associate readily with chromatin in nuclei of somatic cells, only H1FOO is capable of correct chromatin association in germinal vesicle (GV) stage oocyte nuclei. This specificity is generated by the N-terminal and globular domains of H1FOO. Measurement of in vivo binding properties of the H1 variants suggest that H1FOO binds chromatin more tightly than somatic linker histones. We provide evidence that both the binding properties of linker histones as well as additional, active processes contribute to the replacement of somatic histones with H1FOO during nuclear transfer. These results provide the first mechanistic insights into the crucial step of linker histone replacement as it occurs during fertilization and somatic cell nuclear transfer.////////////////
Over-expression of Oocyte-specific Linker Histone(H1foo) in Reprogramming of Porcine(Sus scrofa) Fibroblast into Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells(iPSCs)
Received 2014-6-3 Revised 2014-6-28 Online: 2014-9-18
Abstract Oocyte-specific linker histone(H1foo), the member of histone families, is located specificly in mammalian oocytes and primary embryos. There exists fast replacement between H1foo and its counterpart during the process of fertilization and nuclear transfer of mouse (Mus musculus) , cattle(Bos taurus) and porcine(Sus scrofa), which do help to open the chromosome in donor nuclear and achieve complete reprogramming. Induced pluripotent stem cell(iPSC) technology is another reprogramming strategy different from somatic nuclear transfer. Many reports showed that an open chromosomal structure facilitates somatic reprogramming and increases the induction efficiency of iPSCs. Therefore, in order to investigate whether H1foo has an effect on the induction efficiency of iPSCs, a transient expression of H1foo was conducted in the induction of porcine iPSCs. Two consecutive infections were conducted to the porcine fetal fibroblasts (PFF) by adding doxycycline(DOX)-inducible Lentiviral vectors expressing octamer-binding transcription factor-4(OCT4), SRY-related high-mobility-group(HMG)-box protein-2(SOX2), Kruppel-like factor-4(Klf4) and cellular homologue of avian myelocytomatosis virus oncogene(c-MYC). Vector pVenus-H1foo was electro-transferred into the OSKM-PFF and the cells transferred pVenus were acted as negative control. After several days, the obtained colonies were identified by IF and AP staining as iPSCs. By counting the number of iPSCs colonies, the results showed that the number of AP-positive colonies obtained in PFF with pVenus-H1foo or pVenus was almost the same. It was the first exploration about the effect of H1foo on induction of iPSCs which turned out there was no evident effect. The results above make basis data for the researches on mechnisms of reprogramming including somatic cell nuclear transfer and iPSCs.
Characterization of linker histone H1FOO during bovine in vitro embryo development. McGraw S et al. Linker histones H1 are involved in various mechanisms, such as chromatin organization and gene transcription. In different organisms, a unique subtype can be found in the oocyte, however its function remains unclear. To assess the potential involvement of this oocyte linker histone (H1FOO) in chromatin modulation, we have cloned and sequenced the bovine H1FOO cDNA and followed its mRNA profile by quantitative RT-PCR in the oocyte and throughout bovine early embryo development. The highest level of mRNA was found in the germinal vesicle (GV) oocyte and diminished constantly throughout embryo development. In the 16-cell embryo and blastocyst, respectively, the mRNA levels were 200 and 2,000 times lower than in the GV oocyte. A specific antibody raised against bovine H1FOO was used to establish protein distribution in the oocyte and preimplantation embryo by immunocytochemistry. In the GV and metaphase II (MII) oocyte, as well as in the 1-, 2- and 4-cell embryo, H1FOO was localized in the cytoplasm and nucleus. The protein was uniformly spread within the cytoplasm, while it was concentrated onto the chromatin in the nucleus. In the 8- to 16-cell embryo, H1FOO's presence diminished in the cytoplasm, although it was still strongly expressed in nucleus. In the morula and blastocyst stages, the protein was totally lacking. By its position on chromatin, H1FOO could not only be involved in chromatin conformation but could also participate in activation or repression of genes during oogenesis and embryo development before embryonic genome activation. Mol. Reprod. Dev. (c) 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Oocyte-type linker histone B4 is required for transdifferentiation of somatic cells in vivo. Maki N et al. The ability to reprogram in vivo a somatic cell after differentiation is quite limited. One of the most impressive examples of such a process is transdifferentiation of pigmented epithelial cells (PECs) to lens cells during lens regeneration in newts. However, very little is known of the molecular events that allow newt cells to transdifferentiate. Histone B4 is an oocyte-type linker histone that replaces the somatic-type linker histone H1 during reprogramming mediated by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). We found that B4 is expressed and required during transdifferentiation of PECs. Knocking down of B4 decreased proliferation and increased apoptosis, which resulted in considerable smaller lens. Furthermore, B4 knockdown altered gene expression of key genes of lens differentiation and nearly abolished expression of gamma-crystallin. These data are the first to show expression of oocyte-type linker histone in somatic cells and its requirement in newt lens transdifferentiation and suggest that transdifferentiation in newts might share common strategies with reprogramming after SCNT.
Cellular localization
Nuclear
Comment
Rapid H1 linker histone transitions following fertilization or somatic cell nuclear transfer: evidence for a uniform developmental program in mice. Gao S et al. H1 linker histones (H1s) are key regulators of chromatin structure and function. The functions of different H1s during early embryogenesis, and mechanisms regulating their associations with chromatin are largely unknown. The developmental transitions of H1s during oocyte growth and maturation, fertilization and early embryogenesis, and in cloned embryos were examined. Oocyte-specific H1FOO, but not somatic H1s, associated with chromatin in oocytes (growing, GV-stage, and MII-arrested), pronuclei, and polar bodies. H1FOO associated with sperm or somatic cell chromatin within 5 min of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) or somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), and completely replaced somatic H1s by 60 min. The switching from somatic H1s to H1FOO following SCNT was developmentally regulated. H1FOO was replaced by somatic H1s during the late two- and four-cell stages. H1FOO association with chromatin can occur in the presence of a nuclear envelope and independently of pronucleus formation, is regulated by factors associated with the spindle, and is likely an active process. All SCNT constructs recapitulated the normal sequence of H1 transitions, indicating that this alone does not signify a high developmental potential. A paucity of all known H1s in two-cell embryos may contribute to precocious gene transcription in fertilized embryos, and the elaboration of somatic cell characteristics in cloned embryos.
Linker histone variants control chromatin dynamics during early embryogenesis. Saeki H et al. Complex transitions in chromatin structure produce changes in genome function during development in metazoa. Linker histones, the last component of nucleosomes to be assembled into chromatin, comprise considerably divergent subtypes as compared with core histones. In all metazoa studied, their composition changes dramatically during early embryogenesis concomitant with zygotic gene activation, leading to distinct functional changes that are still poorly understood. Here, we show that early embryonic linker histone B4, which is maternally expressed, is functionally different from somatic histone H1 in influencing chromatin structure and dynamics. We developed a chromatin assembly system with nucleosome assembly protein-1 as a linker histone chaperone. This assay system revealed that maternal histone B4 allows chromatin to be remodeled by ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling factor, whereas somatic histone H1 prevents this remodeling. Structural analysis shows that histone B4 does not significantly restrict the accessibility of linker DNA. These findings define the functional significance of developmental changes in linker histone variants. We propose a model that holds that maternally expressed linker histones are key molecules specifying nuclear dynamics with respect to embryonic totipotency.
Ovarian function
Oogenesis, Oocyte growth, Oocyte maturation, Early embryo development
Comment
Oocyte-specific linker histone H1foo interacts with Esrrb to induce chromatin decondensation at specific gene loci. Hayakawa K et al. (2021) Linker histone H1 is mainly localized in the linker DNA region, between two nucleosome cores, and regulates chromatin structures linking gene expression. Mammalian oocytes contain the histone H1foo, a distinct member with low sequence similarity to other members in the H1 histone family. Although, from various previous studies, evidence related to H1foo function in chromatin structures is being accumulated, the distribution of H1foo at the target gene loci in a genome-wide manner and the molecular mechanism of H1foo-dependent chromatin architecture remain unclear. In this study, we aimed to identify the target loci and the physiological factor bound to H1foo at the loci. Chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing analysis of H1foo-overexpressing mouse embryonic stem cells showed that H1foo is enriched around the transcriptional start sites of genes such as oocyte-specific genes and that the chromatin structures at these regions were relaxed. We demonstrated that H1foo was physiologically bound to the nuclear receptor estrogen-related receptor beta (Esrrb), and Esrrb was necessary for H1foo activity of chromatin decondensation at the target loci. The specific localization and interaction with Esrrb were validated in endogenous H1foo of oocytes. Overall, H1foo induces chromatin decondensation in a locus-specific manner and this function is achieved by interacting with Esrrb.//////////////////H1foo is essential for in vitro meiotic maturation of bovine oocytes. Yun Y 2014 et al.
Summary Oocyte-specific linker histone, H1foo, is localized on the oocyte chromosomes during the process of meiotic maturation, and is essential for mouse oocyte maturation. Bovine H1foo has been identified, and its expression profile throughout oocyte maturation and early embryo development has been established. However, it has not been confirmed if H1foo is indispensable during bovine oocyte maturation. Effective siRNAs against H1foo were screened in HeLa cells, and then siRNA was microinjected into bovine oocytes to down-regulate H1foo expression. H1foo overexpression was achieved via mRNA injection. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) results indicated that H1foo was up-regulated by 200% and down-regulated by 70%. Based on the first polar body extrusion (PB1E) rate, H1foo overexpression apparently promoted meiotic progression. The knockdown of H1foo significantly impaired bovine oocyte maturation compared with H1foo overexpression and control groups (H1foo overexpression = 88.7%, H1foo siRNA = 41.2%, control = 71.2%; P < 0.05). This decrease can be rescued by co-injection of a modified H1foo mRNA that has escaped from the siRNA target. However, the H1e (somatic linker histone) overexpression had no effect on PB1E rate when compared with the control group. Therefore we concluded that H1foo is essential for bovine oocyte maturation and its overexpression stimulates the process.
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Oocyte-specific linker histone H1foo is an epigenomic modulator that decondenses chromatin and impairs pluripotency. Hayakawa K et al. Mammalian oocytes contain the histone H1foo, a distinct member with low sequence similarity to other members in the H1 histone family. Oocyte-specific H1foo exists until the second embryonic cell stage. H1foo is essential for oocyte maturation in mice; however, the molecular function of this H1 subtype is unclear. To explore the function of H1foo, we generated embryonic stem (ES) cells ectopically expressing H1foo fused to an EGFP (H1foo-ES). Interestingly, ectopic expression of H1foo prevented normal differentiation into embryoid bodies (EBs). The EB preparations from H1foo-ES cells maintained the expression of pluripotent marker genes, including Nanog, Myc and Klf9, and prevented the shift of the DNA methylation profile. Because the short hairpin RNA-mediated knockdown of H1foo-EGFP recovered the differentiation ability, H1foo was involved in preventing differentiation. Furthermore, ChIP analysis revealed that H1foo-EGFP bound selectively to a set of hypomethylated genomic loci in H1foo-ES, clearly indicating that these loci were targets of H1foo. Finally, nuclease sensitivity assay suggested that H1foo made these target loci decondensed. We concluded that H1foo has an impact on the genome-wide, locus-specific epigenetic status.
Expression of human oocyte-specific linker histone protein and its incorporation into sperm chromatin during fertilization. Mizusawa Y et al. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression of oocyte-specific linker histone protein (hH1FOO) in human ovaries and its incorporation into sperm chromatin after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). DESIGN: Laboratory study. SETTING: University hospital. PATIENT(S): Human ovarian tissues were obtained from patients at oophorectomy. Human oocytes and embryos were obtained from infertile patients undergoing IVF and ICSI. INTERVENTION(S): A polyclonal rabbit antibody targeting the predicted hH1FOO protein was used for immunohistochemical analysis. Western blot analysis and the reverse transcriptase-nested polymerase chain reaction were done to detect hH1FOO in chromatin of germinal vesicle-stage oocytes through to two-cell embryos. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): The hH1FOO antibody reactivity of oocytes, ovarian tissues, and sperm chromatin after ICSI. RESULT(S): hH1FOO protein was localized in all oocytes from primordial to Graafian follicles. In unfertilized oocytes after ICSI, the chromatin of injected sperm was condensed without hH1FOO incorporation in 45.5% of oocytes, condensed with hH1FOO incorporation in 9%, and decondensed with hH1FOO incorporation in 45.5%. None of the oocytes contained decondensed sperm chromatin without hHFOO incorporation. CONCLUSION(S): hH1FOO protein was expressed by human oocytes from primordial follicles to early embryogenesis. Sperm nuclei that were still condensed after ICSI could be separated into two categories by hH1FOO incorporation, which might provide valuable information regarding failed fertilization.
H1foo is Indispensable for Meiotic Maturation of the Mouse Oocyte. Furuya M et al. Oocyte-specific linker histone H1foo is localized in the oocyte nucleus, either diffusely or bound to chromatin, during the processes of meiotic maturation and fertilization. This expression pattern suggests that H1foo plays a key role in the control of gene expression and chromatin modification during oogenesis and early embryogenesis. To reveal the function of H1foo, we microinjected antisense morpholino oligonucleotides (MO) against H1foo into mouse germinal-vesicle stage oocytes. The rate of in vitro maturation of the antisense MO group was significantly lower than that of the control group. Eggs that failed to extrude a first polar body following injection of antisense MO arrested at metaphase I. Additionally, co-injection of in vitro synthesized H1foo mRNA along with antisense MO successfully rescued expression of H1foo and improved the in vitro maturation rate. There was no difference in the rate of parthenogenesis between the antisense MO and control groups. These results indicate that H1foo is essential for maturation of germinal vesicle-stage oocytes.
Characterization of somatic cell nuclear reprogramming by oocytes in which a linker histone is required for pluripotency gene reactivation. Jullien J et al. When transplanted into Xenopus oocytes, the nuclei of mammalian somatic cells are reprogrammed to express stem cell genes such as Oct4, Nanog, and Sox2. We now describe an experimental system in which the pluripotency genes Sox2 and Oct4 are repressed in retinoic acid-treated ES cells but are reprogrammed up to 100% within 24 h by injection of nuclei into the germinal vesicle (GV) of growing Xenopus oocytes. The isolation of GVs in nonaqueous medium allows the reprogramming of individual injected nuclei to be seen in real time. Analysis using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching shows that nuclear transfer is associated with an increase in linker histone mobility. A simultaneous loss of somatic H1 linker histone and incorporation of the oocyte-specific linker histone B4 (or H1Foo in mammals) precede transcriptional reprogramming. The loss of H1 is not required for gene reprogramming. We demonstrate both by antibody injection experiments and by dominant negative interference that the incorporation of B4 linker histone is required for pluripotency gene reactivation during nuclear reprogramming. We suggest that the binding of oocyte-specific B4 linker histone to chromatin is a key primary event in the reprogramming of somatic nuclei transplanted to amphibian oocytes.
Degradation of maternal mRNA in mouse embryos: selective degradation of specific mRNAs after fertilization. Alizadeh Z et al. During oogenesis, mRNA is actively transcribed and accumulated in growing oocytes, but this transcription stops before the oocytes grow to their full size. The accumulated maternal mRNA is used for protein synthesis in the oocytes during meiotic maturation and even in the embryos to sustain development after fertilization. Therefore, the degradation of accumulated maternal mRNA starts during meiotic maturation, but its rate is slow. Nevertheless, some mRNA species should rapidly degrade after fertilization if they encode proteins that play a role in specific events during meiosis and are detrimental for development after fertilization. In this study, to identify the selective degradation of maternal transcripts after fertilization, we sought mRNAs that are degraded in the early hours after fertilization by constructing an oocyte cDNA library after subtracting the cDNA of embryos at the mid one-cell stage. H1oo, c-mos, tPA (tissue type plasminogen activator gene), and Gdf9 were identified as genes whose transcripts undergo rapid degradation after fertilization. RT-PCR analysis showed that none of these transcripts was expressed during pre-implantation development once they were eliminated, suggesting that the mRNA species that are required for oogenesis, but not for early pre-implantation development, are degraded rapidly after fertilization. Microinjection of chimeric mRNAs in which the coding and 3'-untranslated regions (3'UTR) were exchanged between c-mos and hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase mRNAs revealed that the 3'UTR plays a role in the rapid degradation that occurs after fertilization. Cytoplasmic polyadenylation elements (CPEs) was found near a poly(A) signal in the 3'UTR of all the mRNA species identified as rapidly degrading mRNA. The mechanism for the selective degradation is discussed, in relation to its biological significance.
Expression regulated by
Comment
Mouse oocytes and early embryos express multiple histone H1 subtypes. Fu G et al. Oocytes and embryos of many species, including mammals, contain a unique linker (H1) histone, termed H1oo in mammals. It is uncertain, however, whether other H1 histones also contribute to the linker histone complement of these cells. Using immunofluorescence and radiolabeling, we have examined whether histone H10, which frequently accumulates in the chromatin of nondividing cells, and the somatic subtypes of H1 are present in mouse oocytes and early embryos. We report that oocytes and embryos contain mRNA encoding H10. A polymerase chain reaction-based test indicated that the poly(A) tail did not lengthen during meiotic maturation, although it did so beginning at the four-cell stage. Antibodies raised against histone H10 stained the nucleus of wild-type prophase-arrested oocytes but not of mice lacking the H10 gene. Following fertilization, H10 was detected in the nuclei of two-cell embryos and less strongly at the four-cell stage. No signal was detected in H10 -/- embryos. Radiolabeling revealed that species comigrating with the somatic H1 subtypes H1a and H1c were synthesized in maturing oocytes and in one- and two-cell embryos. Beginning at the four-cell stage in both wild-type and H10 -/- embryos, species comigrating with subtypes H1b, H1d, and H1e were additionally synthesized. These results establish that histone H10 constitutes a portion of the linker histone complement in oocytes and early embryos and that changes in the pattern of somatic H1 synthesis occur during early embryonic development. Taken together with previous results, these findings suggest that multiple H1 subtypes are present on oocyte chromatin and that following fertilization changes in the histone H1 complement accompany the establishment of regulated embryonic gene expression.
Ovarian localization
Oocyte
Comment
Tanaka M, et al reported that H1FOO Is Coupled to the Initiation of Oocytic Growth.
The authors previously reported the discovery of a novel mammalian H1 linker histone termed H1FOO (formerly H1oo), a replacement H1 whose expression is restricted to the growing/maturing oocyte and to the zygote. The significance of this pre-embryonic H1 draws on its substantial orthologous conservation, singular structural attributes, selectivity for the germ cell lineage, prolonged nucleosomal residence and apparent predominance amongst germ cell H1s. Herein, they report that the intronic, single copy, five exon (>/= 5301bp) H1foo gene, maps to chromosome 6 and that the corresponding primary H1foo transcript gives rise to two distinct, alternatively spliced mRNA species (H1fooalpha and H1foobeta). The expression of the oocytic H1foo transcript and protein proved temporally coupled to the recruitment of resting primordial follicles into a developing primary follicular cohort and thus to the critical transition marking the onset of oocytic growth. The corresponding potential protein isoforms (H1FOOalpha and H1FOObeta), both NLS-endowed but NES-free and possessing a significant net positive charge, localized primarily to peri-nucleolar heterochromatin in the oocytic germinal vesicle. Further investigation will be required to define the functional role of the H1FOO protein in the ordering of the chromatin of early mammalian development as well as its potential role in defining the primordial-to-primary follicle transition.
Rapid replacement of somatic linker histones with the oocyte-specific linker histone H1foo in nuclear transfer. Teranishi T et al. The most distinctive feature of oocyte-specific linker histones is the specific timing of their expression during embryonic development. In Xenopus nuclear transfer, somatic linker histones in the donor nucleus are replaced with oocyte-specific linker histone B4, leading to the involvement of oocyte-specific linker histones in nuclear reprogramming. We recently have discovered a mouse oocyte-specific linker histone, named H1foo, and demonstrated its expression pattern in normal preimplantation embryos. The present study was undertaken to determine whether the replacement of somatic linker histones with H1foo occurs during the process of mouse nuclear transfer. H1foo was detected in the donor nucleus soon after transplantation. Thereafter, H1foo was restricted to the chromatin in up to two-cell stage embryos. After fusion of an oocyte with a cell expressing GFP (green fluorescent protein)-tagged somatic linker histone H1c, immediate release of H1c in the donor nucleus was observed. In addition, we used fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP), and found that H1foo is more mobile than H1c in living cells. The greater mobility of H1foo may contribute to its rapid replacement and decreased stability of the embryonic chromatin structure. These results suggest that rapid replacement of H1c with H1foo may play an important role in nuclear remodeling.
Phenotypes
Mutations
1 mutations
Species: mouse
Mutation name: None
type: null mutation fertility: fertile Comment: Mice homozygous for a targeted H1FOO mutation exhibit no detectable abnormalities. Oocytes develop normally and no defects in fertility or litter sizes are observed (Submitted by Adashi). See Additional MGI link