title: Differential DNA methylation may contribute to temporal and spatial regulation of gene expression and the development of mycelia and conidia in entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium robertsii.
abstract: Conidia and mycelia are two important developmental stages in the asexual life cycle of entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium. Despite the crucial role that DNA methylation plays in many biological processes, its role in regulation of gene expression and development in fungi is not yet fully understood. We performed genome-wide analysis of DNA methylation patterns of an M. robertsii strain with single base pair resolution. Specifically, we examined for changes in methylation patterns between the conidia and mycelia stages. The results showed that approximately 0.38 % of cytosines are methylated in conidia, which is lower than the DNA methylation level (0.42 %) in mycelia. We found that DNA methylation undergoes genome-wide reprogramming during fungal development in M. robertsii. 132 differentially methylated regions (DMRs), which were mostly distributed in gene regions, were identified. KEGG analysis revealed that the DMR-associated genes belong to metabolic pathways. Intriguingly, in contrast to most other eukaryotes, promoter activities in M. robertsii seemed differentially modulated by DNA methylation levels. We found that transcription tended to be enhanced in genes with moderate promoter methylation, while gene expression was decreased in genes with high or low promoter methylation.
authors.affiliation: Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Pest Control, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China; Engineering Technology Research Center of Microbial Fermentation Anhui Province, Anhui Polytechnic University, Wuhu 241000, China.
authors.forename: Wanzhen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Pest Control, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China.
authors.forename: Yulong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Pest Control, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China.
authors.forename: Jianyu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Pest Control, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China; School of Plant Protection, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China.
authors.forename: Zhangxun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI 49931, USA.
authors.forename: Guiliang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Pest Control, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China. Electronic address: bhuang@ahau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D019175:DNA Methylation; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000378:metabolism*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D015966:Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; D025301:Hyphae / Q000254:growth & development*; D052981:Metarhizium / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D013172:Spores, Fungal / Q000254:growth & development*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D004271:DNA, Fungal
keywords: Genomic bisulfite sequencing (BS-Seq); Global reprogramming; Methylome