PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Megan A. Gura
AU  - Sona Relovska
AU  - Kimberly M. Abt
AU  - Kimberly A. Seymour
AU  - Tong Wu
AU  - Haskan Kaya
AU  - James M. A. Turner
AU  - Thomas G. Fazzio
AU  - Richard N. Freiman
TI  - TAF4b transcription networks regulating early oocyte differentiation
AID  - 10.1101/2021.07.18.452838
DP  - 2021 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 2021.07.18.452838
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/07/18/2021.07.18.452838.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/07/18/2021.07.18.452838.full
AB  - Establishment of a healthy ovarian reserve is contingent upon numerous regulatory pathways during embryogenesis. Previously, mice lacking TBP-associated factor 4b (Taf4b) were shown to exhibit a diminished ovarian reserve. However, potential oocyte-intrinsic functions of TAF4b have not been examined. Here we use a combination of gene expression profiling and chromatin mapping to characterize the TAF4b gene regulatory network in mouse oocytes. We find that Taf4b-deficient oocytes display inappropriate expression of meiotic, chromatin, and X-linked genes, and unexpectedly we found a connection with Turner Syndrome pathways. Using Cleavage Under Targets and Release Using Nuclease (CUT&RUN), we observed TAF4b enrichment at genes involved in meiosis and DNA repair, some of which are differentially expressed in Taf4b-deficient oocytes. Interestingly, TAF4b target genes were enriched for Sp/KLF family motifs rather than TATA-box, suggesting an alternate mode of promoter interaction. Together, our data connects several gene regulatory nodes that contribute to the ovarian reserve.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.