DNA Cytosine demethylation: are we getting close?
Whether 5-methylcytosine (meC) can be enzymatically removed from vertebrate DNA has been the subject of extensive study and also some controversy. Rai et al. (2008) now report that cytosine demethylation can be accomplished in a one-cell zebrafish embryo by the combined action of a cytidine deaminase and a thymine DNA glycosylase.
Jiricny
Josef
J
Department of Biology, Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (ETH), 8057 Zurich, Switzerland. jiricny@imcr.uzh.ch
Menigatti
Mirco
M
D000818:Animals; D003564:Cytidine Deaminase / Q000378:metabolism; D003596:Cytosine / Q000378:metabolism*; D019175:DNA Methylation; D044502:Thymine DNA Glycosylase / Q000378:metabolism; D015027:Zebrafish
D003596:Cytosine; D044502:Thymine DNA Glycosylase; D003564:Cytidine Deaminase