LINE-1 transcription in round spermatids is associated with accretion of 5-carboxylcytosine in their open reading frames

Blythe, Martin J.; Kocer, Ayhan; Rubio-Roldan, Alejandro; Giles, Tom; Abakir, Abdulkadir; Ialy-Radio, Côme; Wheldon, Lee M.; Bereshchenko, Oxana; Bruscoli, Stefano; Kondrashov, Alexander; Drevet, Joël R.; Emes, Richard D.; Johnson, Andrew D.; McCarrey, John R.; Gackowski, Daniel; Olinski, Ryszard; Cocquet, Julie; Garcia-Perez, Jose L.; Ruzov, Alexey

Abstract

Chromatin of male and female gametes undergoes a number of reprogramming events during the transition from germ cell to embryonic developmental programs. Although the rearrangement of DNA methylation patterns occurring in the zygote has been extensively characterized, little is known about the dynamics of DNA modifications during spermatid maturation. Here, we demonstrate that the dynamics of 5-carboxylcytosine (5caC) correlate with active transcription of LINE-1 retroelements during murine spermiogenesis. We show that the open reading frames of active and evolutionary young LINE-1s are 5caC-enriched in round spermatids and 5caC is eliminated from LINE-1s and spermiogenesis-specific genes during spermatid maturation, being simultaneously retained at promoters and introns of developmental genes. Our results reveal an association of 5caC with activity of LINE-1 retrotransposons suggesting a potential direct role for this DNA modification in fine regulation of their transcription.

Citation

Blythe, M. J., Kocer, A., Rubio-Roldan, A., Giles, T., Abakir, A., Ialy-Radio, C., …Ruzov, A. (2021). LINE-1 transcription in round spermatids is associated with accretion of 5-carboxylcytosine in their open reading frames. Communications Biology, 4, Article 691. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-021-02217-8

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 14, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Jun 7, 2021
• Publication Date: Jun 7, 2021
• Deposit Date: May 26, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 7, 2021
• Journal: Communications Biology
• Electronic ISSN: 2399-3642
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 4
• Article Number: 691
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-021-02217-8
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/5573477
• Publisher URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-021-02217-8