Modulation of Escherichia coli DNA methyltransferase activity by biologically derived GATC-flanking sequences.

ABSTRACT: Escherichia coli DNA adenine methyltransferase (EcoDam) methylates the N-6 position of the adenine in the sequence 5'-GATC-3' and plays vital roles in gene regulation, mismatch repair, and DNA replication. It remains unclear how the small number of critical GATC sites involved in the regulation of replication and gene expression are differentially methylated, whereas the approximately 20,000 GATCs important for mismatch repair and dispersed throughout the genome are extensively methylated. Our prior work, limited to the pap regulon, showed that methylation efficiency is controlled by sequences immediately flanking the GATC sites. We extend these studies to include GATC sites involved in diverse gene regulatory and DNA replication pathways as well as sites previously shown to undergo differ

SUBMITTER: Coffin SR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2459302 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature