RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Endogenous retrovirus rewired the gene regulatory network shared between primordial germ cells and naïve pluripotent cells in hominoids
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2021.03.09.434541
DO 10.1101/2021.03.09.434541
A1 Ito, Jumpei
A1 Seita, Yasunari
A1 Kojima, Shohei
A1 Parrish, Nicholas F.
A1 Sasaki, Kotaro
A1 Sato, Kei
YR 2021
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/03/10/2021.03.09.434541.abstract
AB Although the gene regulatory network controlling germ cell development is critical for gamete integrity, this network has been substantially diversified during mammalian evolution. Here, we show that several hundred loci of LTR5_Hs, a hominoid-specific endogenous retrovirus (ERV), function as enhancers in both human primordial germ cells (PGCs) and naïve pluripotent cells. PGCs and naïve pluripotent cells exhibit a similar transcriptome signature, and the enhancers derived from LTR5_Hs contribute to establishing such similarity. LTR5_Hs appears to be activated by transcription factors critical in both cell types (KLF4, TFAP2C, NANOG, and CBFA2T2). Comparative transcriptome analysis between humans and macaques suggested that the expression of many genes in PGCs and naïve pluripotent cells has been upregulated by LTR5_Hs insertions in the hominoid lineage. Together, this study suggests that LTR5_Hs insertions have rewired and finetuned the gene regulatory network shared between PGCs and naïve pluripotent cells during hominoid evolution.Teaser A hominoid-specific ERV has rewired the gene regulatory network shared between PGCs and naïve pluripotent cells.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.