{
  "id": 8303692,
  "title": "Decoupling Transcription from Cell Fate Preserves Germ Cell Totipotency",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/18/decoupling-transcription-from-cell-fate-preserves-germ-cell",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-18T00:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "bioRxiv",
    "slug": "biorxiv",
    "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.17.752471v1?rss=1"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Only germ cells can give rise to a totipotent embryo, yet a conserved transcriptional program for germ cell identity remains elusive. Profiling Drosophila primordial germ cells (PGCs) across embryogenesis, we find that nascent PGCs are not silent, as previously thought, but instead transcribe the same totipotency program as the early embryo, reflecting an open chromatin state. This chromatin…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}