# Albino Deletion Complex and Early Mouse Development

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2021 · $431,645

## Abstract

Abstract
PRC2’s histone H3 lysine-27 methylation activity plays a pivotal role in cellular homeostasis
maintenance, cell lineage specification, and disease development through maintaining
chromatin structure and transcriptional programs. Genome-wide H3K27 methylation is restored
in daughter cells for cell identity maintenance during cell proliferation and are also transmitted
into next generation through gametes for gene regulation in early embryogenesis. The
epigenetic memory of H3K27me landscapes is determined by the temporospatial control of
PRC2 recruitment and assembly on targeting chromatin loci. The interaction between PRC2 and
chromatin is mediated through a complicated process involving repressive transcriptional states,
CpG-rich DNA elements, chromatin-binding proteins, DNA modifications, histone modifications,
and noncoding RNAs. This process is particularly important for mammalian spermatogenesis,
which requires numerous epigenetic changes to accompany the transition from somatic, diploid
precursors to mature, haploid gametes [reviewed]. Faithful execution of the meiotic program
requires that the genome undergoes large-scale changes to histone and DNA modifications as
well as to chromatin structure, all of which require the action of a large number of chromatin
modifying pathways. Homologous recombination occurs during the first meiotic prophase. DNA
double-strand breaks (DSBs) are induced, and repair at these breaks generates DNA
recombination between homologous chromosomes. Many of the factors required for repair of
stress-induced DNA damage in somatic cells function during male meiosis. In addition to their
well-characterized roles in transcriptional regulation, chromatin-remodeling complexes also
have roles in DNA repair. Because male germ cell development is characterized by DSBs and
dynamic changes to gene expression patterns, including a transition from somatic to germ-cell-
specific genes, global repression of transposon activity, and meiotic sex chromosome
inactivation, it stands to reason that this process is particularly sensitive to the activity of
several epigenetic regulators known to influence meiotic recombination. Proposed experiments
will address the mechanisms by which PRC1/2 and SWI/SNF subunits regulate epigenetic
memory during spermatogenesis, as well as defining how associations between complexes and
lncRNAs shape the male epigenome during meiosis.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10142486
- **Project number:** 5R01GM101974-33
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **Principal Investigator:** TERRY R MAGNUSON
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $431,645
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1989-12-01 → 2024-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10142486

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10142486, Albino Deletion Complex and Early Mouse Development (5R01GM101974-33). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10142486. Licensed CC0.

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