Integrative Multi-omics Analysis Reveals the Impact of Epigenetic Regulator Cfp1 on male meiosis

Spermatogenesis is a complex process involving meiosis in spermatocytes and dynamic epigenetic changes that ensure the inheritance of genetic traits. CXXC finger protein 1 (Cfp1), a component of the SETD1 methyltransferase complex, has a binding domain specific for unmethylated CpG sites. Previous studies have implicated Cfp1 in the epigenetic changes required for meiosis in spermatocytes, and its loss of function has been shown to result in male sterility. In this study, we aimed to gain a comprehensive understanding of Cfp1 function in spermatocytes by examining its genome-wide binding profile and the resulting changes in DNA methylation and H3K4me3, a histone modification associated with active gene transcription. We isolated Cfp1-depleted spermatocytes and performed H3K4me3 ChIP-seq and reduced-representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS) analyses. By integrating these multi-omics datasets with Cfp1 ChIP-seq analysis, we identified genes directly regulated by Cfp1 and characterised the epigenetic changes associated with its regulation. Our analysis shows that Cfp1 not only directly affects the regulation of genes essential for meiosis, but also has a significant impact on the overall regulation of gene expression. The knowledge gained from studying the regulatory mechanisms of Cfp1 in spermatocytes provides valuable information about the reproductive process and contributes to our understanding of the underlying causes of infertility. To observe cfp1-induced changes in DNA methylation in spermatocytes, we used RRBS to generate high-throughput sequencing data to identify methylation differences.