Following fertilization, the oocyte and sperm lose their distinct chromatin signature to form a functional embryonic genome. Here the authors find that, in human embryos, the paternal constitutive heterochromatin is inherited in the canonical configuration from the sperm and is propagated by the H3K9/HP1 pathway.
- Christine van de Werken
- Godfried W. van der Heijden
- Esther B. Baart
