DNA- and RNA-seq to study the impact of 5-formylcytosine on nucleosome organization and gene expression in embryonic mouse tissues and stem cells

We investigated the impact of 5-formylcytosine on nucleosome organization in vitro and in vivo. Our data demonstrated that 5-formylcytosine (5fC) can determine nucleosome positioning in mouse embryonic tissues that was linked to gene expression in mouse embryonic tissues. Redistribution of nucleosomes associated to changes in 5fC sites in thymine DNA glycosylase knockout (TDG KO) was linked to gene expression changes. In mESC TDG KO we showed that genes containing potential Schiff base interaction between histone 3 and 5fC impacted the transcription activity of the RNA polymerase II.