Abstract:
Methylation of the lysine 9 residue of histone H3 (H3K9) is linked with repression of transcription. Dimethylated H3K9 adopts a strict asymmetrical distribution in murine zygotes, with dimethylated H3K9 detectable only on maternally derived chromatin. In contrast, both male and female pronuclei in porcine zygotes can possess dimethylated H3K9; however, some asymmetry in H3K9 dimethylation exists between individual pronuclei, particularly in polyspermic embryos. The objective of this study was to determine the extent that DNA, mRNA, and protein synthesis serve in maintaining the asymmetrical distribution of dimethylated H3K9 in porcine zygotes. We hypothesized that the distribution of dimethylated H3K9 between individual pronuclei would not depend on alternations in chromatin structure induced by DNA or mRNA synthesis but would be affected by protein synthesis. To test this hypothesis, in vitro-matured porcine oocytes were fertilized in vitro, cultured in porcine zygote medium-3 containing 3 mg mL-1 of BSA, and allocated to 1 of 4 treatment groups: (1) incubation with 25 μg mL-1 of α-amanitin (α-AM), (2) incubation with 3 μg mL-1 of aphidicolin (APH), (3) incubation with 50 μg mL-1 of cycloheximide (CYC), and (4) nontreated controls. Embryos were removed from each treatment group at 10, 15, 20, and 25 h post gamete mixing, fixed, and processed to detect dimethylated H3K9 immunocytochemically. For monospermic embryos in the control group, 24% (7/29), 31% (8/26), 30% (7/24), and 20% (4/20) showed differential localization between pronuclei at 10, 15, 20, and 25 h, respectively. For polyspermic embryos in the control group, 82% (32/39), 78% (31/40), 74% (28/38), and 65% (24/37) showed differential localization between pronuclei at 10, 15, 20, and 25 h, respectively. For monospermic embryos in the α-AM group, 29% (4/14), 14% (2/14), 8% (1/12), and 11% (1/9) showed differential localization between pronuclei at 10, 15, 20, and 25 h, respectively. For polyspermic embryos in the α-AM group, 71% (15/21), 63% (12/19), 55% (10/18), and 47% (8/17) showed differential localization between pronuclei at 10, 15, 20, and 25 h, respectively. For monospermic embryos in the APH group, 31% (4/13), 23% (3/13), 23% (3/13), and 18% (2/11) showed differential localization between pronuclei at 10, 15, 20, and 25 h, respectively. For polyspermic embryos in the APH group, 75% (15/20), 67% (12/18), 63% (12/19), and 56% (10/18) showed differential localization between pronuclei at 10, 15, 20, and 25 h, respectively. For monospermic embryos in the CYC group, 33% (5/15), 25% (4/16), 14% (2/14), and 9% (1/11) showed differential localization between pronuclei at 10, 15, 20, and 25 h, respectively. For polyspermic embryos in the CYC group, 78% (18/23), 67% (16/24), 58% (14/24), and 59% (13/22) showed differential localization between pronuclei at 10, 15, 20, and 25 h, respectively. These results suggest that the distribution of dimethylated H3K9 between pronuclei is not affected by DNA, mRNA, or protein synthesis (P > 0.05), but is affected by the age of the pronuclei (P < 0.05).