Regulation of DNA methylation at SINEs during mouse male germ-cell development

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To elucidate regulation of SINE retrotransposons during mammalian germ-cell development, DNA methylation states of mouse B1 and B2 SINE were studied. This study revealed(1) SINEs become demethylated in primordial germ cells, then re-methylated in fatal prospermatogonia,(2) after birth, they keep methylated during spermatogenesis,(3) SINE copies neighboring transcription start sites are involved in regulation of the gene expression,(4) the germ cell-specific small RNAs(piRNAs) are dispensable for SINE methylation and regulation, and(5) SINE methylation depends on Dnmt3a with varied dependencies according to their genomic and nuclear locations. Thus, the regulation of SINE methylation differs significantly from those of LINEs and endogenous retroviruses.