Monozygotic (MZ) twins and higher-order multiples arise when a zygote splits during pre-implantation stages of development. The mechanisms underpinning this event have remained a mystery. Because MZ twinning rarely runs in families, the leading hypothesis is that it occurs at random. Here, we show that MZ twinning is strongly associated with a stable DNA methylation signature in adult somatic tissues. This signature spans regions near telomeres and centromeres, Polycomb-repressed regions and heterochromatin, genes involved in cell-adhesion, WNT signaling, cell fate, and putative human metastable epialleles. Our study also demonstrates a never-anticipated corollary: because identical twins keep a lifelong molecular signature, we can retrospectively diagnose if a person was conceived as monozygotic twin.

© 2021. The Author(s).

Overview publication

TitleIdentical twins carry a persistent epigenetic signature of early genome programming.
DateSeptember 28th, 2021
Issue nameNature communications
Issue numberv12.1:5618
DOI10.1038/s41467-021-25583-7
PubMed34584077
Authorsvan Dongen J, Gordon SD, McRae AF, Odintsova VV, Mbarek H, Breeze CE, Sugden K, Lundgren S, Castillo-Fernandez JE, Hannon E, Moffitt TE, Hagenbeek FA, van Beijsterveldt CEM, Jan Hottenga J, Tsai PC, Min JL, Hemani G, Ehli EA, Paul F, Stern CD, Heijmans BT, Slagboom PE, Daxinger L, van der Maarel SM, de Geus EJC, Willemsen G, Montgomery GW, Reversade B, Ollikainen M, Kaprio J, Spector TD, Bell JT, Mill J, Caspi A, Martin NG & Boomsma DI
InfoVan Dongen J, Hottenga JJ, McRae AF, Sugden K, Castillo-Fernandez JE, Hannon E, Moffitt TE, Hottenga JJ, de Geus EJC, Spector TD
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