Epigenetic interactions of DNA oxygenase TET1 in neural tube closure.

Embryonic cells in the earliest stages of development can generate the entire fetal body, a feature commonly known as pluripotency. In mammals, this process involves dynamic changes in the way methyl groups are erased or added at specific positions in DNA. Changes in DNA methylation regulate gene expression and phenotype without altering the DNA sequence, constituting an important part of“epigenetics” research. The TET DNA dioxygenases erase DNA methylation by reiterative oxidation of 5-methylcytosine via 5-hydroxymethylcytosine, a discovery in 2009 that has reshaped dogma in epigenetics. As co-discoverer of the TET family, Prof. Kian Koh at KU Leuven studies the regulation of TET in pluripotency and early embryonic differentiation. Recent work by the group has opened new lines of investigation of TET1’s interesting roles in both embryonic and extra-embryonic lineages of the early post-implantation mouse embryo. Using transgenic mouse strains generated in the laboratory, a PhD project is available to investigate how lineage-speci