Three studies highlight DUX proteins as key transcription factors regulating embryonic genome activation in early mammalian development.
NCBI Summary:
This gene is located within a D4Z4 repeat array in the subtelomeric region of chromosome 4q. The D4Z4 repeat is polymorphic in length; a similar D4Z4 repeat array has been identified on chromosome 10. Each D4Z4 repeat unit has an open reading frame (named DUX4) that encodes two homeoboxes; the repeat-array and ORF is conserved in other mammals. The encoded protein has been reported to function as a transcriptional activator of paired-like homeodomain transcription factor 1 (PITX1; GeneID 5307). Contraction of the macrosatellite repeat causes autosomal dominant facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants. [provided by RefSeq, Apr 2015]
General function
Transcription factor
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Cellular localization
Nuclear
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Ovarian function
Early embryo development
Comment
An integrated chromatin accessibility and transcriptome landscape of human pre-implantation embryos. Liu L et al. (2019) Human pre-implantation embryonic development involves extensive changes in chromatin structure and transcriptional activity. Here, we report on LiCAT-seq, a technique that enables simultaneous profiling of chromatin accessibility and gene expression with ultra-low input of cells, and map the chromatin accessibility and transcriptome landscapes for human pre-implantation embryos. We observed global difference in chromatin accessibility between sperm and all stages of embryos, finding that the accessible regions in sperm tend to occur in gene-poor genomic regions. Integrative analyses between the two datasets reveals strong association between the establishment of accessible chromatin and embryonic genome activation (EGA), and uncovers transcription factors and endogenous retrovirus (ERVs) specific to EGA. In particular, a large proportion of the early activated genes and ERVs are bound by DUX4 and become accessible as early as the 2- to 4-cell stages. Our results thus offer mechanistic insights into the molecular events inherent to human pre-implantation development.//////////////////