Abstract:

Fertilization occurs when the two gametes, after epigenetic reprogramming, fuse to produce a totipotent zygote. Although any defects in gametes’ reprogramming can cause infertility, the mechanisms underlying this process, remain poorly understood. Our lab now focuses on understanding the epigenetic events contributing to the formation of functional gametes, to the establishment of totipotency and to the conversion of the totipotent zygote’s quiescent genome into a transcriptionally competent one.

We recently showed that H3K27me3 repressive histone mark is retained on post- meiotic oocytes and it is intergenerationally transmitted from the germline to the early embryo. The maternally inherited H3K27me3 regulates the activation of enhancers and lineage-specific genes during development. Thus, we suggest that H3K27me3 serve as a template of epigenetic memory that can be transferred through the maternal germline and instruct the developmental program of the next generation.

Bio Sketch:

Nicola Iovino studied biology in Naples, Italy, where I got an MSc in Biology in 2002 under the supervision of Prof. Roberto Di Lauro.
He then worked 3 years in industry in the Merck research laboratories in the laboratory of Riccardo Cortese, in Pomezia, Rome, before to go back to basic research.