Novel features of telomere biology revealed by the absence of telomeric DNA methylation.

ABSTRACT: Cytosine methylation regulates the length and stability of telomeres, which can affect a wide variety of biological features, including cell differentiation, development, or illness. Although it is well established that subtelomeric regions are methylated, the presence of methylated cytosines at telomeres has remained controversial. Here, we have analyzed multiple bisulfite sequencing studies to address the methylation status of Arabidopsis thaliana telomeres. We found that the levels of estimated telomeric DNA methylation varied among studies. Interestingly, we estimated higher levels of telomeric DNA methylation in studies that produced C-rich telomeric strands with lower efficiency. However, these high methylation estimates arose due to experimental limitations of the bisulfite techniqu

SUBMITTER: Vega-Vaquero A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4971770 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature