After fertilization, the chromatin structure is altered dynamically, and zygotic chromatin structure is then eventually established1,2. During this period, in paternal pronuclei, the dominant chromatin protein is changed from protamine into histone. The resulting chromatin is extremely different from that of sperms and female oocytes in several points (e.g., histone variant composition, histone modification). Thus, formed zygotic chromatin is thought to be important for subsequent embryonic development. However, despite efforts to reveal the details of zygotic chromatin structure over long periods, methods to evaluate the quality of zygotes or to predict their full-term development at the one-cell stage by analyzing their chromatin structure have never been established.
In the previous study, it is discovered that zygotes have an extremely loosened chromatin structure3. Currently, chromatin looseness or openness is believed to be an important factor for cellular differentiation potential in embryonic stem (ES) cells4. ES cells do not exhibit homogeneity in nature, but are rather heterogeneous; in ES cell colonies, some transiently acquire a higher differentiation potential comparable to blastomeres of two-cell stage embryos. During this transition into the two-cell like state, chromatin looseness in ES cells changes into what is comparable with two-cell stage embryos5. Thus, chromatin looseness seems to be important for cellular differentiation potential and it is possible that extensively open chromatin in zygotes is useful for the evaluation of zygotic developmental potential.
Live imaging is a powerful tool that allows for the analysis of molecular events during ontogenesis since this method allows for subsequent development and even full-term development6. As one of the live imaging methods, FRAP analysis has been used to examine chromatin looseness in preimplantation embryos and ES cells3,4,5. If zygotic chromatin looseness can be analyzed without a detrimental effect on full-term development by FRAP analysis, it may be a valuable tool for the evaluation of the quality of embryos at the one-cell stage. However, the effects on full-term development by this experimental method have not been examined. Recently, an experimental system using FRAP to evaluate zygotic chromatin looseness was developed. Because this was a new observation system for zygotes, it was termed as zygotic FRAP (zFRAP). zFRAP did not critically affect full-term development and has been reported elsewhere7. In this report, the protocol of this experimental method is described.