Fig. 7. Schematic depiction of the study design, analyses methods and results from synchronised hPSC differentiation to definitive endoderm.
We took advantage of the Fluorescent Ubiquitination-based Cell Cycle Indicator (FUCCI) reporter to develop a culture system allowing the differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) synchronised in their early G1 phase of the cell cycle to assess the epigenome and transcriptome dynamics during the first two divisions leading to definitive endoderm. Our data comprise multiple time points spanning each successive cell cycle and include simultaneous analysis of RNA-seq, ATAC-seq and ChIP-seq. A summary of the results is shown together with a map of Waddington’s epigenetic landscape for endoderm cell fate specification upon differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells. Overall, these data reveal key successive interplays between epigenetic modifications during differentiation and provide a valuable resource to investigate mechanisms in germ layer specification. Created with BioRender.com.