Failure to maternally reprogram histone methylation causes developmental delay due to germline transcription in somatic tissues

In C. elegans, the H3K4me2 demethylase, SPR-5, and the H3K9 methyltransferase, MET-2, are maternally deposited into the oocyte where they reprogram histone methylation to prevent somatic expression of germline genes. Here, we show that the progeny of spr-5; met-2 mutants display a severe developmental delay that is associated with the ectopic expression of germline genes targeted by the H3K36me2/3 methyltransferase, MES-4. Maternally deposited MES-4 maintains H3K36me2/3 at a subset of germline genes (hereafter referred to as MES-4 germline genes) in a transcription-independent manner, and this is required for germline proliferation in the subsequent generation. By performing ChIP-seq on L1 progeny from spr-5; met-2 mutants, we find that MES-4 germline genes ectopically accumulate H3K36me3 in somatic tissues. Additionally, knocking down MES-4 suppresses the ectopic expression of MES-4 germline genes and rescues the developmental delay. These data suggest a model where SPR-5, MET-2 and MES-4 carefully balance the inheritance of histone methylation from the parental germline to ensure the proper specification of germline versus soma in the progeny. Without SPR-5; MET-2 maternal reprogramming, somatic cells struggle to specify their proper cell fate amongst the background noise of inappropriate germline gene transcription, leading to a severe developmental delay. RNA-seq analysis on spr-5; met-2 L1 progeny to determine differentially expressed genes compared to wild-type ( N2)