Department of Pathology, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, PO Box 913, Dunedin, New Zealand
Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery, The University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand.
Biochem Soc Trans. 2019 Apr 30;47(2):713-724. doi: 10.1042/BST20180617. Epub 2019 Apr 5.
How developmental gene expression is activated, co-ordinated and maintained is one of the biggest questions in developmental biology. While transcription factors lead the way in directing developmental gene expression, their accessibility to the correct repertoire of genes can depend on other factors such as DNA methylation, the presence of particular histone variants and post-translational modifications of histones. Collectively, factors that modify DNA or affect its packaging and accessibility contribute to a chromatin landscape that helps to control the timely expression of developmental genes. Zebrafish, perhaps better known for their strength as a model of embryology and organogenesis during development, are coming to the fore as a powerful model for interpreting the role played by chromatin in gene expression. Several recent advances have shown that zebrafish exhibit both similarities and differences to other models (and humans) in the way that they employ chromatin mechanisms of gene regulation. Here, I review how chromatin influences developmental transcriptional programmes during early zebrafish development, patterning and organogenesis. Lastly, I briefly highlight the importance of zebrafish chromatin research towards the understanding of human disease and transgenerational inheritance.
发育基因表达如何被激活、协调和维持，是发育生物学中最大的问题之一。虽然转录因子在指导发育基因表达方面处于领先地位，但它们对正确基因组合的可及性可能取决于其他因素，如 DNA 甲基化、特定组蛋白变体的存在以及组蛋白的翻译后修饰。总之，改变 DNA 或影响其包装和可及性的因素有助于形成一种染色质景观，有助于控制发育基因的适时表达。斑马鱼，也许因其在胚胎学和器官发生发育过程中的强大模型而更为人所知，正逐渐成为解释染色质在基因表达中所起作用的强大模型。最近的几项进展表明，斑马鱼在其利用染色质基因调控机制的方式上，与其他模型（和人类）既有相似之处，也有不同之处。在这里，我回顾了染色质如何影响早期斑马鱼发育、模式形成和器官发生过程中的发育转录程序。最后，我简要强调了研究斑马鱼染色质对理解人类疾病和跨代遗传的重要性。
