The Imprinted Polycomb Group Gene Sfmbt2 is Required for Trophoblast Maintenance and Placenta Development

Embryos with two maternal copies of the genome and no paternal contribution (parthenogenetic embryos), die early in development due to failure to sustain a functional extraembryonic tissue of trophoblast origin. The reported phenotypes of parthenogenetic embryos have been correlated with absence of expression from an imprinted paternally expressed gene (PEG) with critical roles in maintenance of trophoblast stem (TS) cells and their derivatives. To find the genes responsible for the observed phenotypes of the murine parthenogenetic embryos, I performed a survey of known PEGs and identified the paternally expressedPh.D.2018-06-09 00:00:0