Evidence of a conserved functional role for DNA methylation in termites
Evidence of a conserved functional role for DNA methylation in termites
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DOI：
10.1111/imb.12010
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发表时间：
2013-04-01
影响因子：
2.6
通讯作者：
Goodisman, M. A. D.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Glastad, K. M.;Hunt, B. G.;Goodisman, M. A. D.
许多生物体能够从相同的基因型发展出不同的表型。这种发育可塑性在昆虫中特别普遍，昆虫可以根据不同的环境线索产生交替的适应形式。从相同基因型发展不同表型的能力通常依赖于表观遗传信息，表观遗传信息影响基因功能并通过细胞分裂传递。DNA甲基化是一种重要的表观遗传标记，在许多昆虫谱系中已经丢失，但其在许多分类群中的分类分布和功能保守性尚未得到研究。在本研究中，我们证明了高水平的DNA甲基化的签名存在于两个白蚁，黄足散白蚁和家白蚁的表达基因。此外，我们表明，DNA甲基化是优先针对基因之间的变形普遍表达。DNA甲基化的功能关联也类似于在具有功能DNA甲基化系统的其他无脊椎动物分类群中观察到的那些。最后，我们证明了DNA甲基化和基因的长期进化保守之间的关联。总的来说，我们的研究结果强烈表明DNA甲基化在白蚁中的水平特别高，可能与其他昆虫中的作用相似。
Many organisms are capable of developing distinct phenotypes from the same genotype. This developmental plasticity is particularly prevalent in insects, which can produce alternate adaptive forms in response to distinct environmental cues. The ability to develop divergent phenotypes from the same genotype often relies on epigenetic information, which affects gene function and is transmitted through cell divisions. One of the most important epigenetic marks, DNA methylation, has been lost in several insect lineages, yet its taxonomic distribution and functional conservation remain uninvestigated in many taxa. In the present study, we demonstrate that the signature of high levels of DNA methylation exists in the expressed genes of two termites, Reticulitermes flavipes and Coptotermes formosanus. Further, we show that DNA methylation is preferentially targeted to genes with ubiquitous expression among morphs. Functional associations of DNA methylation are also similar to those observed in other invertebrate taxa with functional DNA methylation systems. Finally, we demonstrate an association between DNA methylation and the long-term evolutionary conservation of genes. Overall, our findings strongly suggest DNA methylation is present at particularly high levels in termites and may play similar roles to those found in other insects.