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Molecular Genetic Biology in Embryonic Development
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Molecular Genetic Biology in Embryonic Development

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 March 2025 | Viewed by 8233

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Adam Davis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biology, University of North Georgia, Gainesville Campus, Oakwood, GA 30566, USA
Interests: evolutionary and developmental biology; embryonic gene expression; vertebrate head development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Having a solid background on how genes pattern embryonic development is crucial for understanding the development of human disorders as well as the evolution of complex mechanisms that shape anatomical structures. Such mechanisms involve complex genetic regulatory networks; morphogenesis at the subcellular, cellular, and gross anatomical levels; and environmental interactions with the genome during embryonic development. This Special Issue of the International Journal of Molecular Sciences shall encompass articles on these mechanisms as well as others to help broaden our understanding of the genetic basis of embryonic development. Research manuscripts and comprehensive reviews adhering to the journal’s aims will be accepted.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Mechanisms of gene regulation during embryogenesis;
  • Differential gene expression at the levels of transcription, mRNA processing, translation, and protein modification;
  • Genetic regulation of early developmental processes, including fertilization, cleavage, and gastrulation;
  • Morphogenetic patterning mechanisms at subcellular, cellular, and gross anatomical levels
  • Genetic causes of medical disorders;
  • Genomic and environmental interactions on embryonic development;
  • Divergence in genetic regulatory mechanisms among evolutionary divergent lineages;
  • Evolution of divergent anatomical structures among evolutionary divergent lineages.

Dr. Adam Davis
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • embryonic development
  • evolution and development
  • genetic regulatory networks
  • gene expression and regulation
  • cellular and subcellular morphogenesis
  • anatomical patterning
  • genomic– environmental interactions
  • axis development
  • medical disorders
  • molecular genetics

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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14 pages, 9361 KiB  
Article
H3K4me3 Genome-Wide Distribution and Transcriptional Regulation of Transposable Elements by RNA Pol2 Deposition
by Xiaowei Chen, Hua Yang, Liqin Wang, Ying Chen, Yingnan Yang, Haonan Chen, Feng Wang, Yanli Zhang and Mingtian Deng
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(24), 13545; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms252413545 - 18 Dec 2024
Viewed by 670
Abstract
Zygotic genome activation (ZGA) is critical for early embryo development and is meticulously regulated by epigenetic modifications. H3K4me3 is a transcription-permissive histone mark preferentially found at promoters, but its distribution across genome features remains incompletely understood. In this study, we investigated the genome-wide [...] Read more.
Zygotic genome activation (ZGA) is critical for early embryo development and is meticulously regulated by epigenetic modifications. H3K4me3 is a transcription-permissive histone mark preferentially found at promoters, but its distribution across genome features remains incompletely understood. In this study, we investigated the genome-wide enrichment of H3K4me3 during early embryo development and embryonic stem cells (ESCs) in both sheep and mice. We discovered that broad H3K4me3 domains were present in MII stage oocytes and were progressively diminished, while promoter H3K4me3 enrichment was increased and correlated with gene upregulation during ZGA in sheep. Additionally, we reported the dynamic distribution of H3K4me3 at the transposable elements (TEs) during early embryo development in both sheep and mice. Specifically, the H3K4me3 distribution of LINE1 and ERVL, two subsets of TEs, was associated with their expression during early embryo development in sheep. Furthermore, H3K4me3 enrichment in TEs was greatly increased during ZGA following Kdm5b knockdown, and the distribution of RNA polymerase II (Pol2) in TEs was also markedly increased in Kdm5b knockout ESCs in mice. These findings suggest that H3K4me3 plays important roles in regulating TE expression through interaction with RNA Pol2, providing valuable insights into the regulation of ZGA initiation and cell fate determination by H3K4me3. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Genetic Biology in Embryonic Development)
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17 pages, 24599 KiB  
Article
Histone Lactylation Is Involved in Mouse Oocyte Maturation and Embryo Development
by Diqi Yang, Haoyi Zheng, Wenjie Lu, Xueqi Tian, Yanyu Sun and Hui Peng
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(9), 4821; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25094821 - 28 Apr 2024
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2618
Abstract
Numerous post-translational modifications are involved in oocyte maturation and embryo development. Recently, lactylation has emerged as a novel epigenetic modification implicated in the regulation of diverse cellular processes. However, it remains unclear whether lactylation occurs during oocyte maturation and embryo development processes. Herein, [...] Read more.
Numerous post-translational modifications are involved in oocyte maturation and embryo development. Recently, lactylation has emerged as a novel epigenetic modification implicated in the regulation of diverse cellular processes. However, it remains unclear whether lactylation occurs during oocyte maturation and embryo development processes. Herein, the lysine lactylation (Kla) modifications were determined during mouse oocyte maturation and early embryo development by immunofluorescence staining. Exogenous lactate was supplemented to explore the consequences of modulating histone lactylation levels on oocyte maturation and embryo development processes by transcriptomics. Results demonstrated that lactylated proteins are widely present in mice with tissue- and cell-specific distribution. During mouse oocyte maturation, immunofluorescence for H3K9la, H3K14la, H4K8la, and H4K12la was most intense at the germinal vesicle (GV) stage and subsequently weakened or disappeared. Further, supplementing the culture medium with 10 mM sodium lactate elevated both the oocyte maturation rate and the histone Kla levels in GV oocytes, and there were substantial increases in Kla levels in metaphase II (MII) oocytes. It altered the transcription of molecules involved in oxidative phosphorylation. Moreover, histone lactylation levels changed dynamically during mouse early embryogenesis. Sodium lactate at 10 mM enhanced early embryo development and significantly increased lactylation, while impacting glycolytic gene transcription. This study reveals the roles of lactylation during oocyte maturation and embryo development, providing new insights to improving oocyte maturation and embryo quality. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Genetic Biology in Embryonic Development)
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20 pages, 8883 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Temperature on the Embryo Development of Cephalopod Sepiella japonica Suggests Crosstalk between Autophagy and Apoptosis
by Yifan Liu, Long Chen, Fang Meng, Tao Zhang, Jun Luo, Shuang Chen, Huilai Shi, Bingjian Liu and Zhenming Lv
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(20), 15365; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms242015365 - 19 Oct 2023
Viewed by 2040
Abstract
Temperature is a crucial environmental factor that affects embryonic development, particularly for marine organisms with long embryonic development periods. However, the sensitive period of embryonic development and the role of autophagy/apoptosis in temperature regulation in cephalopods remain unclear. In this study, we cultured [...] Read more.
Temperature is a crucial environmental factor that affects embryonic development, particularly for marine organisms with long embryonic development periods. However, the sensitive period of embryonic development and the role of autophagy/apoptosis in temperature regulation in cephalopods remain unclear. In this study, we cultured embryos of Sepiella japonica, a typical species in the local area of the East China Sea, at different incubation temperatures (18 °C, 23 °C, and 28 °C) to investigate various developmental aspects, including morphological and histological characteristics, mortality rates, the duration of embryonic development, and expression patterns of autophagy-related genes (LC3, BECN1, Inx4) and apoptosis marker genes (Cas3, p53) at 25 developmental stages. Our findings indicate that embryos in the high-temperature (28 °C) group had significantly higher mortality and embryonic malformation rates than those in the low-temperature (18 °C) group. Furthermore, high temperature (28 °C) shortened the duration of embryonic development by 7 days compared to the optimal temperature (23 °C), while low temperature (18 °C) caused a delay of 9 days. Therefore, embryos of S. japonica were more intolerant to high temperatures (28 °C), emphasizing the critical importance of maintaining an appropriate incubation temperature (approximately 23 °C). Additionally, our study observed, for the first time, that the Early blastula, Blastopore closure, and Optic vesicle to Caudal end stages were the most sensitive stages. During these periods, abnormalities in the expression of autophagy-related and apoptosis-related genes were associated with higher rates of mortality and malformations, highlighting the strong correlation and potential interaction between autophagy and apoptosis in embryonic development under varying temperature conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Genetic Biology in Embryonic Development)
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17 pages, 5906 KiB  
Article
DNA Demethylation of Myogenic Genes May Contribute to Embryonic Leg Muscle Development Differences between Wuzong and Shitou Geese
by Xumeng Zhang, Yong Li, Chenyu Zhu, Fada Li, Zhiyuan Liu, Xiujin Li, Xu Shen, Zhongping Wu, Mengsi Fu, Danning Xu, Yunbo Tian and Yunmao Huang
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(8), 7188; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24087188 - 13 Apr 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1808
Abstract
Skeletal muscle development from embryonic stages to hatching is critical for poultry muscle growth, during which DNA methylation plays a vital role. However, it is not yet clear how DNA methylation affects early embryonic muscle development between goose breeds of different body size. [...] Read more.
Skeletal muscle development from embryonic stages to hatching is critical for poultry muscle growth, during which DNA methylation plays a vital role. However, it is not yet clear how DNA methylation affects early embryonic muscle development between goose breeds of different body size. In this study, whole genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) was conducted on leg muscle tissue from Wuzong (WZE) and Shitou (STE) geese on embryonic day 15 (E15), E23, and post-hatch day 1. It was found that at E23, the embryonic leg muscle development of STE was more intense than that of WZE. A negative correlation was found between gene expression and DNA methylation around transcription start sites (TSSs), while a positive correlation was observed in the gene body near TTSs. It was also possible that earlier demethylation of myogenic genes around TSSs contributes to their earlier expression in WZE. Using pyrosequencing to analyze DNA methylation patterns of promoter regions, we also found that earlier demethylation of the MyoD1 promoter in WZE contributed to its earlier expression. This study reveals that DNA demethylation of myogenic genes may contribute to embryonic leg muscle development differences between Wuzong and Shitou geese. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Genetic Biology in Embryonic Development)
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