Figures & data
Figure 1. Post-meiotic histone hyperacetylation triggers the subsequent male genome reorganizations. A wave of genome-wide histone hyperacetylation occurs at the beginning of the elongation of spermatids just before histone replacement by transition proteins. BRDT was recently identified as the first factor capable of binding to hyperacetylated histone H4. Interestingly in the absence of functional double bromodomain testis-specific protein (BRDT), the spermatogenesis defects first appear before spermatid's condensation. The wave of histone hyperacetylation is also associated with specific reprogramming of pericentric regions (revealed by a fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) approach using the major and minor satellite probes, as indicated), which lose their heterochromatic nature and gain histone acetylation. Specific late expressing histone variants organize these regions inducing the formation of new DNA packaging structures. These histones remain associated with the male genome in mature spermatozoa and appear as good candidates for transmitting male-specific epigenetic information to the egg after fertilization.
