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Letter

Nature Cell Biology 8, 188–194 (1 February 2006) | doi:10.1038/ncb1353

G9a-mediated irreversible epigenetic inactivation of Oct-3/4 during early embryogenesis

Nirit Feldman , Ariela Gerson , Jia Fang , En Li , Yi Zhang , Yoichi Shinkai , Howard Cedar & Yehudit Bergman

Oct-3/4 is a POU domain homeobox gene that is expressed during gametogenesis and in early embryonic cells, where it has been shown to be important for maintaining pluripotency. Following implantation, this gene undergoes a novel multi-step programme of inactivation.