TOBF1 modulates mouse embryonic stem cell fate by regulating alternative splicing in a cell cycle dependent manner

Embryonic stem (ES) cells retain the ability to undergo lineage-specificdifferentiation and cell-fate decisions are regulated by cellular processes like networks ofcoordinated alternative splicing and their association with the transcriptional machinery. Inthis study, we show that the lncRNA binding protein TOBF1 regulates the alternative splicingof transcripts necessary for maintaining stem cell identity in mouse ES cells. By overlayinginformation gathered from three sources- TOBF1 chromatin occupancy, the distribution of itspluripotency-associated-OCT-SOX binding motifs and the transcripts undergoing differentialexpression and alternative splicing upon its perturbation, local nuclear territories emergewhere such varied events appear to congregate, eventually leading to the maintenance ofmouse ES cell identity.