Developing landscapes: genome architecture during early embryogenesis

Early in development embryos undergo a transition, during which maternally deposited transcripts are replaced by zygotic transcripts. During this transition the zygotic genome is activated. Recently, the three-dimensional organization of the genome (3D genome) has been charted surrounding this transition phase in a number of species. A common feature of the 3D genome in all these species is that they go through a phase, during which architectural features of the 3D genome, such as TADs and compartments are lost and a uniform chromatin architecture is established. Here, we review the data regarding this enigmatic phase and discuss similarities and differences between species. We also consider mechanisms that may be responsible for the formation of the uniform chromatin architecture. The uniform organization of chromosomes during early development may serve as an important in vivo paradigm for the general study of the 3D genome.