title: Genome-wide profiling of DNA methylation provides insights into epigenetic regulation of fungal development in a plant pathogenic fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae.
abstract: DNA methylation is an important epigenetic modification that regulates development of plants and mammals. To investigate the roles of DNA methylation in fungal development, we profiled genome-wide methylation patterns at single-nucleotide resolution during vegetative growth, asexual reproduction, and infection-related morphogenesis in a model plant pathogenic fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae. We found that DNA methylation occurs in and around genes as well as transposable elements and undergoes global reprogramming during fungal development. Such reprogramming of DNA methylation suggests that it may have acquired new roles other than controlling the proliferation of TEs. Genetic analysis of DNA methyltransferase deletion mutants also indicated that proper reprogramming in methylomes is required for asexual reproduction in the fungus. Furthermore, RNA-seq analysis showed that DNA methylation is associated with transcriptional silencing of transposable elements and transcript abundance of genes in context-dependent manner, reinforcing the role of DNA methylation as a genome defense mechanism. This comprehensive approach suggests that DNA methylation in fungi can be a dynamic epigenetic entity contributing to fungal development and genome defense. Furthermore, our DNA methylomes provide a foundation for future studies exploring this key epigenetic modification in fungal development and pathogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Korea.
authors.forename: Junhyun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Korea [2] Fungal Bioinformatics Laboratory, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Korea.
authors.forename: Jaeyoung
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioinformatics and Life Science, Soongsil University, Seoul 156-743, Korea.
authors.forename: Gir-Won
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Center for Fungal Pathogenesis, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Korea.
authors.forename: Sook-Young
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Korea.
authors.forename: Aram
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Huh
authors.affiliation: Functional Genomics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27607, United States of America.
authors.forename: Ralph A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Dean
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Korea [2] Fungal Bioinformatics Laboratory, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Korea [3] Center for Fungal Pathogenesis, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Korea [4] Center for Fungal Genetic Resources, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Korea.
authors.forename: Yong-Hwan
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004248:DNA (Cytosine-5-)-Methyltransferases / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D019175:DNA Methylation; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements / Q000235:genetics; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D016681:Genome, Fungal; D006801:Humans; D020082:Magnaporthe / Q000235:genetics*; D010802:Phylogeny; D010944:Plants / Q000382:microbiology; D012100:Reproduction, Asexual; D017423:Sequence Analysis, RNA; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D004248:DNA (Cytosine-5-)-Methyltransferases