DNA甲基化与性别二态性：粉蚧的新见解。

DNA methylation and sexual dimorphism: New insights from mealybugs.

作者信息

Sarkies Peter

机构信息

Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.

Institute of Clinical Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK.

出版信息

Mol Ecol. 2021 Nov;30(22):5621-5623. doi: 10.1111/mec.16243. Epub 2021 Nov 5.

DOI:10.1111/mec.16243

PMID:34687580

Abstract

DNA methylation is an ancient epigenetic pathway found across eukaryotes. Nevertheless, the targets of DNA methylation within genomes evolve extremely rapidly. Arthropods display many such examples. The mealybug Planococcus citri has evolved methylation at promoter sequences, associated with gene silencing just as in mammals. In this issue of Molecular Ecology, Bain et al. (2021), thoroughly characterise mealybug methylation, exploring its potential functions in gene expression and the spectacular sexual dimorphism that is a characteristic of this species. Their results provide new insights into the complex relationship between DNA methylation and gene expression and highlight how rapidly different methylation systems can evolve.

摘要

DNA甲基化是一种在真核生物中广泛存在的古老表观遗传途径。然而，基因组内DNA甲基化的靶点进化速度极快。节肢动物就有许多这样的例子。粉蚧类昆虫柑橘粉蚧已经在启动子序列上进化出甲基化，这与哺乳动物中一样，与基因沉默相关。在本期《分子生态学》中，贝恩等人（2021年）全面描述了粉蚧的甲基化，探讨了其在基因表达中的潜在功能以及作为该物种特征的显著性别二态性。他们的研究结果为DNA甲基化与基因表达之间的复杂关系提供了新的见解，并突出了不同甲基化系统进化的速度之快。