Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 23, 2026
09:42
Immunostaining for DNA Modifications: Computational Analysis of Confocal Images
Published on: September 7, 2017
10.3K
Tissue-specific DNA methylation is conserved across human, mouse, and rat, and driven by primary sequence
Jia Zhou1,2, Renee L Sears1, Xiaoyun Xing1
1Department of Genetics, Center for Genome Sciences and Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
BMC Genomics
|September 14, 2017
Summary
Epigenetic conservation of DNA methylation patterns shows partial cross-species conservation, driven by sequence conservation and transcription factor binding sites. This highlights a new paradigm for epigenetic evolution.
Area of Science:
- Comparative epigenomics
- Evolutionary biology
- Genomics
Background:
- Understanding epigenome evolution is key to cellular phenotype diversity.
- DNA methylation is a conserved epigenetic mechanism in mammals.
- Tissue-specific DNA methylation pattern conservation remains largely unknown.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the conservation of tissue-specific DNA methylation patterns across species.
- To define and quantify epigenetic conservation.
- To explore the genetic and regulatory factors underlying epigenetic conservation.
Main Methods:
- Comparative epigenomics approach using rat, mouse, and human tissues.
- Identification and comparison of tissue-specific DNA methylation patterns.
- Analysis of regulatory elements, histone modifications, and transcription factor binding sites.
Main Results:
- 11-37% of tissue-specific DNA methylation patterns exhibit epigenetic conservation.
- Conserved DNA methylation correlates with conserved regulatory elements and histone modifications.
- Primary sequence conservation drives epigenetic conservation, while transcription factor binding site dynamics explain methylation turnover.
Conclusions:
- Introduces a new paradigm of epigenetic conservation independent of genetic conservation.
- Highlights the role of transcription factor binding sites in the evolutionary dynamics of DNA methylation.
- Extends the understanding of comparative epigenomics and epigenetic evolution.
Keywords:
Comparative epigenomicsComparative genomicsDNA methylationEpigenetic conservationTissue-specificMore Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
02:51Multi-species Conserved Sequences
4.9K
Next-generation sequencing technologies have created large genomic databases of a variety of animals and plants. Ever since the human genome project was completed, scientists studied the genome of primates, mammals, and other phylogenetically distant living beings. Such large-scale studies have provided new insights into the evolutionary relationship between organisms.
Although the genome of each species varies greatly from each other, a few sequences are highly conserved. Such conserved...
Although the genome of each species varies greatly from each other, a few sequences are highly conserved. Such conserved...
4.9K
01:46Epigenetic Regulation
34.0K
Epigenetic mechanisms play an essential role in healthy development. Conversely, precisely regulated epigenetic mechanisms are disrupted in diseases like cancer.
34.0K
01:37Epigenetic Regulation
4.0K
Epigenetic changes alter the physical structure of the DNA without changing the genetic sequence and often regulate whether genes are turned on or off. This regulation ensures that each cell produces only proteins necessary for its function. For example, proteins that promote bone growth are not produced in muscle cells. Epigenetic mechanisms play an essential role in healthy development. Conversely, precisely regulated epigenetic mechanisms are disrupted in diseases like cancer.
X-chromosome...
X-chromosome...
4.0K
03:17Inheritance of Chromatin Structures
7.7K
Epigenetics is the study of inherited changes in a cell's phenotype without changing the DNA sequences. It provides a form of memory for the differential gene expression pattern to maintain cell lineage, position-effect variegation, dosage compensation, and maintenance of chromatin structures such as telomeres and centromeres. For example, the structure and location of the centromere on chromosomes are epigenetically inherited. Its functionality is not dictated or ensured by the underlying...
7.7K
01:49Conserved Binding Sites
5.2K
Many proteins’ biological role depends on their interactions with their ligands, small molecules that bind to specific locations on the protein known as ligand-binding sites. Ligand-binding sites are often conserved among homologous proteins as these sites are critical for protein function.
Binding sites are often located in large pockets, and if their location on a protein’s surface is unknown, it can be predicted using various approaches. The energetic method computationally...
Binding sites are often located in large pockets, and if their location on a protein’s surface is unknown, it can be predicted using various approaches. The energetic method computationally...
5.2K
02:31Synteny and Evolution
3.9K
John H. Renwick first coined the term “synteny” in 1971, which refers to the genes present on the same chromosomes, even if they are not genetically linked. The species with common ancestry tend to show conserved syntenic regions. Therefore, the concept of synteny is nowadays used to describe the evolutionary relationship between species.
Around 80 million years ago, the human and mice lineages diverged from the common ancestor. During the course of evolution, the ancestral...
Around 80 million years ago, the human and mice lineages diverged from the common ancestor. During the course of evolution, the ancestral...
3.9K