In sexually reproducing organisms, life begins with the fusion of transcriptionally silent
gametes, the oocyte and sperm. Although initiation of transcription in the embryo, known as …

Highlights•Cellular models can recapitulate some aspects of embryonic genome
activation.•Multiple factors regulate embryonic genome activation.•Several types of totipotent …

Zygotic genome activation (ZGA) activates the quiescent genome to enable the maternal-to-
zygotic transition,. However, the identity of transcription factors that underlie mammalian …

Epigenome reprogramming after fertilization enables transcriptionally quiescent maternal
and paternal chromatin to acquire a permissive state for subsequent zygotic genome …

Zygotic genome activation (ZGA) marks the beginning of the embryonic program for a
totipotent embryo, which gives rise to the inner cell mass (ICM) where pluripotent epiblast …

Mitotic bookmarking transcription factors (TFs) are thought to mediate rapid and accurate
reactivation after mitotic gene silencing. However, the loss of individual bookmarking TFs …

During embryonic development, naive pluripotent epiblast cells transit to a formative state.
The formative epiblast cells form a polarized epithelium, exhibit distinct transcriptional and …

The conversion of DNA 5-methylcytosine (5mC) to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) by TET
enzymes represents a significant epigenetic modification, yet its role in early human …

Pioneer transcription factors (TFs), such as OCT4 and SOX2, play crucial roles in
pluripotency regulation. However, the master TF-governed pluripotency regulatory circuitry …

Stem cells are a hallmark of animal multicellularity. Sox and POU transcription factors are
associated with stemness and were believed to be animal innovations, reported absent in …