Year: 2016
Type: article
Abstract: In plants, CG DNA methylation is prevalent in the transcribed regions of many constitutively expressed genes (gene body methylation; gbM), but the origin and function of gbM remain unknown. Here we report the discovery that Eutrema salsugineum has lost gbM from its genome, to our knowledge the first instance for an angiosperm. Of all known DNA methyltransferases, only CHROMOMETHYLASE 3 (CMT3) is missing from E. salsugineum Identification of an additional angiosperm, Conringia planisiliqua, which independently lost CMT3 and gbM, supports that CMT3 is required for the establishment of gbM. Detailed analyses of gene expression, the histone variant H2A.Z, and various histone modifications in E. salsugineum and in Arabidopsis thaliana epigenetic recombinant inbred lines found no evidence in support of any role for gbM in regulating transcription or affecting the composition and modification of chromatin over evolutionary timescales.
Authors: Adam J. Bewick, Lexiang Ji, Chad E. Niederhuth, Eva-Maria Willing, Brigitte T. Hofmeister, Xiuling Shi, Li Wang, Zefu Lu, Nicholas A. Rohr, Benjamin Hartwig, Christiane Kiefer, Roger B. Deal, Jeremy Schmutz, Jane Grimwood, Hume Stroud, Steven E. Jacobsen, Korbinian Schneeberger, Xiaoyu Zhang, Robert J. Schmitz
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funders: National Science Foundation, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Pew Charitable Trusts, Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, University of Georgia, National Institutes of Health, Georgia Advanced Computing Resource Center, University of Georgia, National Institute of General Medical Sciences
OpenAlex ID: W2486293682