scholarly journals Flanking sequence preference modulates de novo DNA methylation in the mouse genome

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Izaskun Mallona ◽  
Ioana Mariuca Ilie ◽  
Massimiliano Manzo ◽  
Amedeo Caflisch ◽  
Tuncay Baubec

AbstractMammalian de novo DNA methyltransferases (DNMT) are responsible for the establishment of cell-type-specific DNA methylation in healthy and diseased tissues. Through genome-wide analysis of de novo methylation activity in murine stem cells we uncover that DNMT3A prefers to methylate CpGs followed by cytosines or thymines, while DNMT3B predominantly methylates CpGs followed by guanines or adenines. These signatures are further observed at non-CpG sites, resembling methylation context observed in specialised cell types, including neurons and oocytes. We further show that these preferences are not mediated by the differential recruitment of the two de novo DNMTs to the genome but are resulting from structural differences in their catalytic domains. Molecular dynamics simulations suggest that, in case of DNMT3A, the preference is due to favourable polar interactions between the flexible Arg836 side chain and the guanine that base-pairs with the cytosine following the CpG. This context-dependent de novo DNA methylation provides additional insights into the complex regulation of methylation patterns in different cell types.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Izaskun Mallona ◽  
Ioana Mariuca Ilie ◽  
Ino Dominiek Karemaker ◽  
Stefan Butz ◽  
Massimiliano Manzo ◽  
...  

Abstract Mammalian de novo DNA methyltransferases (DNMT) are responsible for the establishment of cell-type-specific DNA methylation in healthy and diseased tissues. Through genome-wide analysis of de novo methylation activity in murine stem cells we uncover that DNMT3A prefers to methylate CpGs followed by cytosines or thymines, while DNMT3B predominantly methylates CpGs followed by guanines or adenines. These signatures are further observed at non-CpG sites, resembling methylation context observed in specialised cell types, including neurons and oocytes. We further show that these preferences result from structural differences in the catalytic domains of the two de novo DNMTs and are not a consequence of differential recruitment to the genome. Molecular dynamics simulations suggest that, in case of human DNMT3A, the preference is due to favourable polar interactions between the flexible Arg836 side chain and the guanine that base-pairs with the cytosine following the CpG. By exchanging arginine to a lysine, the corresponding side chain in DNMT3B, the sequence preference is reversed, confirming the requirement for arginine at this position. This context-dependent enzymatic activity provides additional insights into the complex regulation of DNA methylation patterns.


2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (7) ◽  
pp. 3949-3961 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chien-Chu Lin ◽  
Yi-Ping Chen ◽  
Wei-Zen Yang ◽  
James C K Shen ◽  
Hanna S Yuan

Abstract DNA methyltransferases are primary enzymes for cytosine methylation at CpG sites of epigenetic gene regulation in mammals. De novo methyltransferases DNMT3A and DNMT3B create DNA methylation patterns during development, but how they differentially implement genomic DNA methylation patterns is poorly understood. Here, we report crystal structures of the catalytic domain of human DNMT3B–3L complex, noncovalently bound with and without DNA of different sequences. Human DNMT3B uses two flexible loops to enclose DNA and employs its catalytic loop to flip out the cytosine base. As opposed to DNMT3A, DNMT3B specifically recognizes DNA with CpGpG sites via residues Asn779 and Lys777 in its more stable and well-ordered target recognition domain loop to facilitate processive methylation of tandemly repeated CpG sites. We also identify a proton wire water channel for the final deprotonation step, revealing the complete working mechanism for cytosine methylation by DNMT3B and providing the structural basis for DNMT3B mutation-induced hypomethylation in immunodeficiency, centromere instability and facial anomalies syndrome.


eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shir Toubiana ◽  
Miriam Gagliardi ◽  
Mariarosaria Papa ◽  
Roberta Manco ◽  
Maty Tzukerman ◽  
...  

DNA methyltransferase 3B (DNMT3B) is the major DNMT that methylates mammalian genomes during early development. Mutations in human DNMT3B disrupt genome-wide DNA methylation patterns and result in ICF syndrome type 1 (ICF1). To study whether normal DNA methylation patterns may be restored in ICF1 cells, we corrected DNMT3B mutations in induced pluripotent stem cells from ICF1 patients. Focusing on repetitive regions, we show that in contrast to pericentromeric repeats, which reacquire normal methylation, the majority of subtelomeres acquire only partial DNA methylation and, accordingly, the ICF1 telomeric phenotype persists. Subtelomeres resistant to de novo methylation were characterized by abnormally high H3K4 trimethylation (H3K4me3), and short-term reduction of H3K4me3 by pharmacological intervention partially restored subtelomeric DNA methylation. These findings demonstrate that the abnormal epigenetic landscape established in ICF1 cells restricts the recruitment of DNMT3B, and suggest that rescue of epigenetic diseases with genome-wide disruptions will demand further manipulation beyond mutation correction.


2003 ◽  
Vol 23 (16) ◽  
pp. 5594-5605 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taiping Chen ◽  
Yoshihide Ueda ◽  
Jonathan E. Dodge ◽  
Zhenjuan Wang ◽  
En Li

ABSTRACT We have previously shown that the DNA methyltransferases Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b carry out de novo methylation of the mouse genome during early postimplantation development and of maternally imprinted genes in the oocyte. In the present study, we demonstrate that Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b are also essential for the stable inheritance, or “maintenance,” of DNA methylation patterns. Inactivation of both Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b in embryonic stem (ES) cells results in progressive loss of methylation in various repeats and single-copy genes. Interestingly, introduction of the Dnmt3a, Dnmt3a2, and Dnmt3b1 isoforms back into highly demethylated mutant ES cells restores genomic methylation patterns; these isoforms appear to have both common and distinct DNA targets, but they all fail to restore the maternal methylation imprints. In contrast, overexpression of Dnmt1 and Dnmt3b3 failed to restore DNA methylation patterns due to their inability to catalyze de novo methylation in vivo. We also show that hypermethylation of genomic DNA by Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b is necessary for ES cells to form teratomas in nude mice. These results indicate that genomic methylation patterns are determined partly through differential expression of different Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b isoforms.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linfeng Gao ◽  
Max Emperle ◽  
Yiran Guo ◽  
Sara A Grimm ◽  
Wendan Ren ◽  
...  

AbstractMammalian DNA methylation patterns are established by two de novo DNA methyltransferases DNMT3A and DNMT3B, which exhibit both redundant and distinctive methylation activities. However, the related molecular basis remains undetermined. Through comprehensive structural, enzymology and cellular characterization of DNMT3A and DNMT3B, we here report a multi-layered substrate-recognition mechanism underpinning their divergent genomic methylation activities. A hydrogen bond in the catalytic loop of DNMT3B causes a lower CpG specificity than DNMT3A, while the interplay of target recognition domain and homodimeric interface fine-tunes the distinct target selection between the two enzymes, with Lysine 777 of DNMT3B acting as a unique sensor of the +1 flanking base. The divergent substrate preference between DNMT3A and DNMT3B provides an explanation for site-specific epigenomic alterations seen in ICF syndrome with DNMT3B mutations. Together, this study reveals crucial and distinctive substrate-readout mechanisms of the two DNMT3 enzymes, implicative of their differential roles during development and pathogenesis.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
LM Legault ◽  
K Doiron ◽  
A Lemieux ◽  
M Caron ◽  
D Chan ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTIn early embryos, DNA methylation is remodelled to initiate the developmental program but for mostly unknown reasons, methylation marks are acquired unequally between embryonic and placental cells. To better understand this, we generated high-resolution DNA methylation maps of mouse mid-gestation (E10.5) embryo and placenta. We uncovered specific subtypes of differentially methylated regions (DMRs) that contribute directly to the developmental asymmetry existing between mid-gestation embryonic and placental DNA methylation patterns. We show that the asymmetry occurs rapidly during the acquisition of marks in the post-implanted conceptus (E3.5-E6.5), and that these patterns are long-lasting across subtypes of DMRs throughout prenatal development and in somatic tissues. We reveal that at the peri-implantation stages, the de novo methyltransferase activity of DNMT3B is the main driver of methylation marks on asymmetric DMRs, and that DNMT3B can largely compensate for lack of DNMT3A in the epiblast and extraembryonic ectoderm, whereas DNMT3A can only partially compensate in the absence of DNMT3B. However, as development progresses and as DNMT3A becomes the principal de novo methyltransferase, the compensatory DNA methylation mechanism of DNMT3B on DMRs becomes less effective.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-Shin Nai ◽  
Yu-Chun Huang ◽  
Ming-Ren Yen ◽  
Pao-Yang Chen

DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) are a group of proteins that catalyze DNA methylation by transferring a methyl group to DNA. The genetic variation in DNMTs results in differential DNA methylation patterns associated with various biological processes. In fungal species, DNMTs and their DNA methylation profiles were found to be very diverse and have gained many research interests. We reviewed fungal DNMTs in terms of their biological functions, protein domain structures, and their associated epigenetic regulations compared to those known in plant and animal systems. In addition, we summarized recent reports on potential RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) related to DNMT5 in fungi. We surveyed up to 40 fungal species with published genome-wide DNA methylation profiles (methylomes) and presented the associations between the specific patterns of fungal DNA methylation and their DNMTs based on a phylogenetic tree of protein domain structures. For example, the main DNMTs in Basidiomycota, DNMT1 with RFD domain + DNMT5, contributing to CG methylation preference, were distinct from RID + Dim-2 in Ascomycota, resulting in a non-CG methylation preference. Lastly, we revealed that the dynamic methylation involved in fungal life stage changes was particularly low in mycelium and DNA methylation was preferentially located in transposable elements (TEs). This review comprehensively discussed fungal DNMTs and methylomes and their connection with fungal development and taxonomy to present the diverse usages of DNA methylation in fungal genomes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (8) ◽  
pp. 4081-4099 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex I Finnegan ◽  
Somang Kim ◽  
Hu Jin ◽  
Michael Gapinske ◽  
Wendy S Woods ◽  
...  

Abstract Cytosine methylation is a ubiquitous modification in mammalian DNA generated and maintained by several DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) with partially overlapping functions and genomic targets. To systematically dissect the factors specifying each DNMT’s activity, we engineered combinatorial knock-in of human DNMT genes in Komagataella phaffii, a yeast species lacking endogenous DNA methylation. Time-course expression measurements captured dynamic network-level adaptation of cells to DNMT3B1-induced DNA methylation stress and showed that coordinately modulating the availability of S-adenosyl methionine (SAM), the essential metabolite for DNMT-catalyzed methylation, is an evolutionarily conserved epigenetic stress response, also implicated in several human diseases. Convolutional neural networks trained on genome-wide CpG-methylation data learned distinct sequence preferences of DNMT3 family members. A simulated annealing interpretation method resolved these preferences into individual flanking nucleotides and periodic poly(A) tracts that rotationally position highly methylated cytosines relative to phased nucleosomes. Furthermore, the nucleosome repeat length defined the spatial unit of methylation spreading. Gene methylation patterns were similar to those in mammals, and hypo- and hypermethylation were predictive of increased and decreased transcription relative to control, respectively, in the absence of mammalian readers of DNA methylation. Introducing controlled epigenetic perturbations in yeast thus enabled characterization of fundamental genomic features directing specific DNMT3 proteins.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren J. Mills ◽  
Milcah C. Scott ◽  
Pankti Shah ◽  
Anne R. Cunanan ◽  
Archana Deshpande ◽  
...  

AbstractOsteosarcoma is an aggressive tumor of the bone that primarily affects young adults and adolescents. Osteosarcoma is characterized by genomic chaos and heterogeneity. While inactivation of tumor suppressor p53 TP53 is nearly universal other high frequency mutations or structural variations have not been identified. Despite this genomic heterogeneity, key conserved transcriptional programs associated with survival have been identified across human, canine and induced murine osteosarcoma. The epigenomic landscape, including DNA methylation, plays a key role in establishing transcriptional programs in all cell types. The role of epigenetic dysregulation has been studied in a variety of cancers but has yet to be explored at scale in osteosarcoma. Here we examined genome-wide DNA methylation patterns in 24 human and 44 canine osteosarcoma samples identifying groups of highly correlated DNA methylation marks in human and canine osteosarcoma samples. We also link specific DNA methylation patterns to key transcriptional programs in both human and canine osteosarcoma. Building on previous work, we built a DNA methylation-based measure for the presence and abundance of various immune cell types in osteosarcoma. Finally, we determined that the underlying state of the tumor, and not changes in cell composition, were the main driver of differences in DNA methylation across the human and canine samples.SignificanceThis is the first large scale study of DNA methylation in osteosarcoma and lays the ground work for the exploration of DNA methylation programs that help establish conserved transcriptional programs in the context of different genomic landscapes.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex I. Finnegan ◽  
Somang Kim ◽  
Hu Jin ◽  
Michael Gapinske ◽  
Wendy S. Woods ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTCytosine methylation is a ubiquitous modification in mammalian DNA generated and maintained by several DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) with partially overlapping functions and genomic targets. To systematically dissect the factors specifying each DNMT’s activity, we engineered combinatorial knock-in of human DNMT genes in Komagataella phaffii, a yeast species lacking endogenous DNA methylation. Time-course expression measurements captured dynamic network-level adaptation of cells to DNMT3B1-induced DNA methylation stress and showed that coordinately modulating the availability of S-adenosyl methionine (SAM), the essential metabolite for DNMT-catalyzed methylation, is an evolutionarily conserved epigenetic stress response, also implicated in several human diseases. Convolutional neural networks trained on genome-wide CpG-methylation data learned distinct sequence preferences of DNMT3 family members. A simulated annealing interpretation method resolved these preferences into individual flanking nucleotides and periodic poly(A) tracts that rotationally position highly methylated cytosines relative to phased nucleosomes. Furthermore, the nucleosome repeat length defined the spatial unit of methylation spreading. Gene methylation patterns were similar to those in mammals, and hypo- and hypermethylation were predictive of increased and decreased transcription relative to control, respectively, in the absence of mammalian readers of DNA methylation. Introducing controlled epigenetic perturbations in yeast thus enabled characterization of fundamental genomic features directing specific DNMT3 proteins.


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