DNA methylation in Caulobacter and other Alphaproteobacteria during cell cycle progression

In Caulobacter crescentus, methylation of DNA by CcrM plays an important part in the regulation of cell cycle progression. Thanks to this methyltransferase, the activity of which is cell cycle regulated, the chromosome transitions between a hemimethylated state in the S-phase to a fully methylated condition in the G1 and G2 phases. Any perturbation in CcrM expression, such as depletion or constitutive expression, causes severe developmental defects. Several studies suggest that the role of CcrM is conserved across the Alphaproteobacteria. In the past few years, the importance of methylation on the expression of cell cycle regulated genes has emerged, suggesting that CcrM-dependent methylation can direct the binding of transcription factors to specific methylated sequences and affect the expression of genes depending on the methylation state of their promoters. CcrM activity has recently been linked to GcrA, a cell cycle master regulator that controls the expression of several genes during S-phase. Here, we review recent findings that establish the global role of methylation in cell cycle progression, and also explore the significance of a CcrM-GcrA epigenetic module that has co-evolved in Alphaproteobacteria, including Caulobacter, in controlling several genes involved in cell division, polarity, and motility.