The elephant shark methylome reveals conservation of epigenetic regulation across jawed vertebrates.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Methylation of CG dinucleotides constitutes a critical system of epigenetic memory in bony vertebrates, where it modulates gene expression and suppresses transposon activity. The genomes of studied vertebrates are pervasively hypermethylated, with the exception of regulatory elements such as transcription start sites (TSSs), where the presence of methylation is associated with gene silencing. This system is not found in the sparsely methylated genomes of invertebrates, and establishing how it arose during early vertebrate evolution is impeded by a paucity of epigenetic data from basal vertebrates.

Methods

 We perform whole-genome bisulfite sequencing to generate the first genome-wide methylation profiles of a cartilaginous fish, the elephant shark Callorhinchus

SUBMITTER: Peat JR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5437953 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature