Capture of a functionally active methyl-CpG binding domain by an arthropod retrotransposon family.

ABSTRACT: The repressive capacity of cytosine DNA methylation is mediated by recruitment of silencing complexes by methyl-CpG binding domain (MBD) proteins. Despite MBD proteins being associated with silencing, we discovered that a family of arthropod Copia retrotransposons have incorporated a host-derived MBD. We functionally show how retrotransposon-encoded MBDs preferentially bind to CpG-dense methylated regions, which correspond to transposable element regions of the host genome, in the myriapod Strigamia maritima Consistently, young MBD-encoding Copia retrotransposons (CopiaMBD) accumulate in regions with higher CpG densities than other LTR-retrotransposons also present in the genome. This would suggest that retrotransposons use MBDs to integrate into heterochromatic region

SUBMITTER: de Mendoza A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6673714 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature