It has recently become apparent that RNA, itself the product of transcription, is a major
regulator of the transcriptional process. In particular, long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) …

Chromatin, the template for epigenetic regulation, is a highly dynamic entity that is constantly
reshaped during early development and differentiation. Epigenetic modification of chromatin …

Pluripotent cells emerge as a naive founder population in the blastocyst, acquire capacity for
germline and soma formation, and then undergo lineage priming. Mouse embryonic stem …

The regulative capability of single cells to give rise to all primary embryonic lineages is
termed pluripotency. Observations of fluctuating gene expression and phenotypic …

Primordial germ cells (PGCs), the precursors of sperm and eggs, are established in
perigastrulation-stage embryos in mammals. Signals from extra-embryonic tissues induce a …

The mouse inner cell mass (ICM) segregates into the epiblast and primitive endoderm (PrE)
lineages coincident with implantation of the embryo. The epiblast subsequently undergoes …

CpG islands (CGIs) represent a widespread feature of vertebrate genomes, being
associated with~ 70% of all gene promoters. CGIs control transcription initiation by …

Drastic epigenetic reprogramming takes place during preimplantation development, leading
to the conversion of terminally differentiated gametes to a totipotent embryo. Deficiencies in …

In mammals, all somatic development originates from lineage segregation in early embryos.
However, the dynamics of transcriptomes and epigenomes acting in concert with initial cell …

Poised enhancers (PEs) represent a genetically distinct set of distal regulatory elements that
control the expression of major developmental genes. Before becoming activated in …