INSERM, U1016, Institut Cochin, Paris, France.
CNRS, UMR8104, Paris, France.
Adv Exp Med Biol. 2019;1166:1-28. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-21664-1_1.
Spermatozoa genome has unique features that make it a fascinating field of investigation: first, because, with oocyte genome, it can be transmitted generation after generation; second, because of genetic shuffling during meiosis, each spermatozoon is virtually unique in terms of genetic content, with consequences for species evolution; and finally, because its chromatin organization is very different from that of somatic cells or oocytes, as it is not based on nucleosomes but on nucleoprotamines which confer a higher order of packaging. Histone-to-protamine transition involves many actors, such as regulators of spermatid gene expression, components of the nuclear envelop, histone-modifying enzymes and readers, chaperones, histone variants, transition proteins, protamines, and certainly many more to be discovered.In this book chapter, we will present what is currently known about sperm chromatin structure and how it is established during spermiogenesis, with the aim to list the genetic factors that regulate its organization.
精子基因组具有独特的特征，使其成为一个引人入胜的研究领域：首先，因为它与卵母细胞基因组一起代代相传；其次，由于减数分裂过程中的遗传重组，每个精子在遗传内容方面实际上都是独一无二的，这对物种进化有影响；最后，由于其染色质组织与体细胞或卵母细胞非常不同，因为它不是基于核小体，而是基于核精蛋白，核精蛋白赋予更高阶的包装。组蛋白到精蛋白的转变涉及许多因素，如精子基因表达的调节剂、核包膜的成分、组蛋白修饰酶和读取器、伴侣蛋白、组蛋白变体、过渡蛋白、精蛋白，当然还有许多有待发现的因素。在这一章中，我们将介绍目前已知的精子染色质结构以及它在精子发生过程中是如何建立的，目的是列出调节其组织的遗传因素。
