TY  - JOUR
TI  - Epigenetic asymmetry in the zygote and mammalian development 
AU  - Feil, Robert
T2  - The International Journal of Developmental Biology
AB  -  In mammals, the maternal and the paternal genome are not functionally equivalent and are both required for embryonic and postnatal development. The genome is organised differently in the oocyte as compared to sperm, in which the DNA is tightly packaged with protamines rather than with histones. The requirement of both the parental genomes for normal development is a consequence of differential epigenetic marking in oogenesis and spermatogenesis, at the regulatory elements that control genomic imprinting. These germ line-derived marks of DNA methylation are resistant to the global waves of demethylation that occur following fertilisation, and bring about the parental allele-specific expression of imprinted genes during development and after birth. Perturbation of the differential organisation of the maternally and paternally derived genomes, before fertilisation, or in the early embryo, can give rise to aberrant growth and developmental disorders in humans.
PY  - 2009
DO  - 10.1387/ijdb.082654rf
VL  - 53
IS  - 2-3
SP  - 191
EP  - 201
J2  - Int. J. Dev. Biol.
LA  - en
SN  - 0214-6282
SN  - 1696-3547
UR  - https://ijdb.ehu.eus/article/082654rf
Y2  - 2024/04/29/12:51:50
ER  -