Germ cell-specific eIF4E1b regulates maternal mRNA translation to ensure zygotic genome activation
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Abstract
Translation of maternal mRNAs is detected before transcription of zygotic genes and is essential for mammalian embryo development. How certain maternal mRNAs are selected for translation instead of degradation and how this burst of translation affects zygotic genome activation remain unknown. Using gene-edited mice, we document that the oocyte-specific eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E family member 1b (eIF4E1b) is the regulator of maternal mRNA expression that ensures subsequent reprogramming of the zygotic genome. In oocytes, eIF4E1b binds to transcripts encoding translation machinery proteins, chromatin remodelers, and reprogramming factors to promote their translation in zygotes and protect them from degradation. The protein products are thought to establish an open chromatin landscape in one-cell zygotes to enable transcription of genes required for cleavage stage development. Our results define a program for rapid resetting of the zygotic epigenome that is regulated by maternal mRNA expression and provide new insights into the mammalian maternal-to-zygotic transition.
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- Authors
- Yang, G., Xin, Q., Feng, I., Wu, D., & Dean, J.
- Affiliations
- National Institutes of Health (US)
- Corresponding author
- Xin, Qiliang
- Dean, Jurrien
- Venue
- Genes & Development
- Publisher
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
- Published
- 2023-05-01
- Volume
- 37
- Issue
- 9-10
- Pages
- 418-431
- ISSN
- 0890-9369 (ISSN-L)
- 1549-5477
- PMC
- PMC10270193
- OpenAlex
- W4378908086
- Cited by
- 25
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 6
- Type
- posted content
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Genes & Development (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- NIDDK (ZIAADK015603)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Reproductive Biology and Fertility
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Developmental Biology and Gene Regulation
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms
- Keywords
- maternal mRNA translation, zygotic genome activation, maternal-to-zygotic transition, oocytes, mRNA degradation, chromatin remodeling, epigenetic reprogramming, open chromatin, early embryonic development, translation initiation factors
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Oocytes, Protein Biosynthesis, Zygote, Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental, RNA, Messenger, Stored, Embryonic Development, Mice
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