The oxygen concentration can vary greatly during development, but it
is always well below the atmospheric O2 level of 21% (Dunwoodie et al
2009). This physiological oxygen environment (estimated to be between
2% and 8%) is essential for normal development and is determined
by the rate of O2 diffusion through the tissue. This act of diffusion will
create microgradients that promote the differentiation of certain types
of stem cells and inhibit the differentiation of others (Simon et al 2008).
The strict regulation of the oxygen microenvironments will form the
entire ordered multicellular organism with numerous different cell types
from the starting cell, the zygote. One of the key regulating events are
methylation and demethylation need to occur in an orderly fashion
within each cell. Understanding these small but powerful changes and
their preferred environment is the basis to understanding the entire
developmental process.
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