Gene-body CG methylation and divergent expression of duplicate genes in rice.

ABSTRACT: Gene and genome duplication fosters genetic novelty, but redundant gene copies would undergo mutational decay unless preserved via selective or neutral forces. Molecular mechanisms mediating duplicate preservation remain incompletely understood. Several recent studies showed an association between DNA methylation and expression divergence of duplicated genes and suggested a role of epigenetic mechanism in duplicate retention. Here, we compare genome-wide gene-body CG methylation (BCGM) and duplicate gene expression between a rice mutant null for OsMet1-2(a major CG methytransferase in rice) and its isogenic wild-type. We demonstrate a causal link between BCGM divergence and expression difference of duplicate copies. Interestingly, the higher- and lower-expressing copies of duplicates as se

SUBMITTER: Wang X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5453933 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature