Epigenetic memory in somatic cell nuclear transfer and induced pluripotency: Evidence and implications

• SCNT and iPSCs technologies complement each other in tackling reprogramming questions.
• Epigenetic memory biases reprogrammed cell redifferentiation towards its donor cell lineage.
• Epigenetic memory can be utilised in identifying regulatory cues during differentiation.

Six decades ago, seminal work conducted by John Gurdon on genome conservation resulted in major advancements towards nuclear reprogramming technologies such as somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), cell fusion and transcription factor mediated reprogramming. This revolutionized our views regarding cell fate conversion and development. These technologies also shed light on the role of the epigenome in cellular identity, and how the memory of the cell of origin affects the reprogrammed cell. This review will discuss recent work on epigenetic memory retained in pluripotent cells derived by SCNT and transcription factor mediated reprogramming, and the challenges attached to it.