Functional CpG methylation system in a social insect.
DNA methylation systems are well characterized in vertebrates, but methylation in Drosophila melanogaster and other invertebrates remains controversial. Using the recently sequenced honey bee genome, we present a bioinformatic, molecular, and biochemical characterization of a functional DNA methylation system in an insect. We report on catalytically active orthologs of the vertebrate DNA methyltransferases Dnmt1 and Dnmt3a and b, two isoforms that contain a methyl-DNA binding domain, genomic 5-methyl-deoxycytosine, and CpG-methylated genes. The honey bee provides an opportunity to study the roles of methylation in social contexts.
Wang
Ying
Y
Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
Jorda
Mireia
M
Jones
Peter L
PL
Maleszka
Ryszard
R
Ling
Xu
X
Robertson
Hugh M
HM
Mizzen
Craig A
CA
Peinado
Miguel A
MA
Robinson
Gene E
GE
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001482:Base Composition; D001516:Bees / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D019295:Computational Biology; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D004248:DNA (Cytosine-5-)-Methyltransferases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D019175:DNA Methylation; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015226:Dinucleoside Phosphates / Q000378:metabolism*; D017344:Genes, Insect; D049750:Genome, Insect; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data
D004247:DNA; D004248:DNA (Cytosine-5-)-Methyltransferases; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D015226:Dinucleoside Phosphates; D019476:Insect Proteins; C015772:CpG dinucleotide