RNA interference knockdown of DNA methyl-transferase 3 affects gene alternative splicing in the honey bee.

ABSTRACT: Studies of DNA methylation from fungi, plants, and animals indicate that gene body methylation is ancient and highly conserved in eukaryotic genomes, but its role has not been clearly defined. It has been postulated that regulation of alternative splicing of transcripts was an original function of DNA methylation, but a direct experimental test of the effect of methylation on alternative slicing at the whole genome level has never been performed. To do this, we developed a unique method to administer RNA interference (RNAi) in a high-throughput and noninvasive manner and then used it to knock down the expression of DNA methyl-transferase 3 (dnmt3), which is required for de novo DNA methylation. We chose the honey bee (Apis mellifera) for this test because it has recently emerged as an impo

SUBMITTER: Li-Byarlay H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3732956 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature