An ambitious EC-funded research initiative on epigenetics advancing towards systems biology

A focus of our work is to understand how DNA methylation patterns are established in the mammalian oocyte. Methylation in oocytes has a particular significance, as it marks a subset of genes for appropriate expression in the next generation (e.g. imprinted genes) and may contribute transgenerational effects. Oocytes are a particularly interesting system to understand general principles of methylation, because it occurs on a blank slate without the confounds of DNA replication. We are especially interested in how de novo methylation genome-wide is coordinated by oocyte growth. Our results indicate that methylation, including at imprinted regions, intragenic CpG islands and gene bodies, is driven by transcriptional events, such that methylation is governed by patterns of promoter induction during oocyte growth. This perspective provides us with a unique opportunity to investigate links between external cues, intracellular signalling events and de novo methylation. We are applying a systems approach, incorporating epigenomic profiling (specialising in low cell number techniques), in vivo genetic approaches and in vitro work.

Dr. Sebastien Smallwood (post-doc)
Dr. Shinichi Tomizawa (post-doc)
Dr. Joanna joanna Nowacka-Woszuk (visiting post-doctoral fellow)
Ms. Natasha Carli (Ph.D. student)
Ms. Kathleen Steward (Ph.D. student)
Ms. Lenka Veselovska (Ph.D. student)