Distinct role of histone chaperone Asf1a and Asf1b during fertilization and pre-implantation embryonic development in mice

BACKGROUND: Asf1 is a well-conserved histone chaperone that regulates multiple cellular processes in different species. Two paralogous genes, Asf1a and Asf1b exist in mammals, but their role during fertilization and early embryogenesis remains to be investigated further. METHODS: We analyzed the dynamics of histone chaperone Asf1a and Asf1b in oocytes and pre-implantation embryos in mice by immunofluorescence and real-time quantitative PCR, and further investigated the role of Asf1a and Asf1b during fertilization and pre-implantation development by specific Morpholino oligos-mediated knock down approach. RESULTS: Immunofluorescence with specific antibodies revealed that both Asf1a and Asf1b were deposited in the nuclei of fully grown oocytes, accumulated abundantly in zygote and 2-cell embryonic nuclei, but turned low at 4-cell stage embryos. In contrast to the weak but definite nuclear deposition of Asf1a, Asf1b disappeared from embryonic nuclei at morula and blastocyst stages. The knockdown of Asf1a and Asf1b by specific Morpholino oligos revealed that Asf1a but not Asf1b was required for the histone H3.3 assembly in paternal pronucleus. However, knockdown of either Asf1a or Asf1b expression decreased developmental potential of pre-implantation embryos. Furthermore, while Asf1a KD severely reduced H3K56 acetylation level and the expression of Oct4 in blastocyst stage embryos, Asf1b KD almost eliminated nuclear accumulation of proliferating cell marker-PCNA in morula stage embryos. These results suggested that histone chaperone Asf1a and Asf1b play distinct roles during fertilization and pre-implantation development in mice. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggested that both Asf1a and Asf1b are required for pre-implantation embryonic development. Asf1a regulates H3K56ac levels and Oct4 expression, while Asf1b safeguards pre-implantation embryo development by regulating cell proliferation. We also showed that Asf1a, but not Asf1b, was necessary for the assembly of histone H3.3 in paternal pronuclei after fertilization. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13072-021-00430-7.