Dwarf surf clam (Mulinia lateralis) epigenetic regulation and maternal-to-zygotic transition: insights from transcriptomics and chromatin state profiling

• A Naveen

  English

  Author

The group of Mollusca known as bivalve
mollusks is important both taxonomically and
commercially. Nevertheless, little is known
about the regulatory processes controlling their
embryonic growth. Recently, the dwarf surf
clam (Mulinia lateralis) has been recognized as
an appropriate model system for bivalve
embryological study due to its high fertility and
short generation period. By combining
transcriptome analysis and chromatin-state
profiling, this study investigated the epigenetic
processes governing embryogenesis in M.
lateralis, with an emphasis on the maternal-to-
zygotic transition (MZT). High-resolution
landscapes of the histone modifications
H3K4me1, H3K4me3, H3K27me3, and
H3K27ac throughout important developmental
stages were created for the first time in this
species using CUT&Tag. Significant histone
mark reprogramming was found in the resultant
data, suggesting dynamic changes in chromatin
architecture throughout the early stages of
embryonic development. The timing of MZT in
M. lateralis between the morula and gastrula
stages was determined by integration with
transcriptome data, which also revealed a
number of potential genes that are crucial for
development. With implications for functional
gene study and aquaculture progress, these
findings establish M. lateralis as a reliable
platform for epigenomic research in marine
invertebrates and offer mechanistic insight into
chromatin-mediated control of bivalve
embryogenesis.

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