Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: BACKGROUND: DNA methylation is a critical epigenetic modification that functions in diverse biological processes. High-throughput sequencing has revealed substantial variations in DNA methylation patterns across species. While extensively studied in vertebrates, knowledge of invertebrate DNA methylation remains limited. RESULTS: We examined the DNA methylation landscape of the ancient-looking marine mollusk, Nautilus pompilius, a "living fossil". We identified key DNA methyltransferase genes (DNMT1 and DNMT3) by homologous searches against the N. pompilius genome and employed whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) to characterize methylation patterns. Despite generally similar gene body methylation (gbM) and genome-wide methylation levels to other invertebrates, the N. pompilius exhibits a characteristic low methylation bias specifically in the promoter and first exon regions. CONCLUSIONS: N. pompilius has a typical gene body methylation pattern. Both promoter and gene body methylation may work together to regulate gene expression in N. pompilius. Our research provides valuable information to the ever-expanding methylation map of invertebrates.
Source: BMC Genomics
Authors: Yueming Wu, Fan Mao, Xin Dang, Zhi Zhang, Ziniu Yu, Huawei Mu, Yang Zhang, Xiaoyuan Song
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,090
OpenAlex ID: W4415299338