Dynamic regulation of 5mC during preimplantation embryonic development Yi Zhang Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. Epigenetic modifications play important roles in diverse biological processes that range from regulation of gene expression, embryonic development, stem cell reprogramming, and human diseases such as cancers. One of the epigenetic modifications is DNA methylation. Although enzymes responsible for DNA methylation have been well characterized, enzymes that responsible for active DNA demethylation in mammalian cells have remained elusive. Recent studies have demonstrated that a novel family of proteins Tet1-3 have the capacity to convert 5mC to 5hmC, 5fC, and 5caC raising the possibility that DNA demethylation may occur through Tet-catalyzed oxidation followed by decarboxylation. In this talk, I will present our recent findings on the dynamics of Tet oxidation products in preimplantation embryos and their potential role in early embryonic development.

Dynamic regulation of 5mC during preimplantation embryonic development

Yi Zhang

Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.

Epigenetic modifications play important roles in diverse biological processes that range from regulation of gene expression, embryonic development, stem cell reprogramming, and human diseases such as cancers. One of the epigenetic modifications is DNA methylation. Although enzymes responsible for DNA methylation have been well characterized, enzymes that responsible for active DNA demethylation in mammalian cells have remained elusive. Recent studies have demonstrated that a novel family of proteins Tet1-3 have the capacity to convert 5mC to 5hmC, 5fC, and 5caC raising the possibility that DNA demethylation may occur through Tet-catalyzed oxidation followed by decarboxylation. In this talk, I will present our recent findings on the dynamics of Tet oxidation products in preimplantation embryos and their potential role in early embryonic development.