title: Functional CpG methylation system in a social insect.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Mireia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jorda
authors.forename: Peter L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Ryszard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Maleszka
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ling
authors.forename: Hugh M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Robertson
authors.forename: Craig A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Mizzen
authors.forename: Miguel A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Peinado
authors.forename: Gene E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Robinson
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D004247:DNA; D004248:DNA (Cytosine-5-)-Methyltransferases; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D015226:Dinucleoside Phosphates; D019476:Insect Proteins; C015772:CpG dinucleotide