Conserved DNA Methyltransferases: A Window into Fundamental Mechanisms of Epigenetic Regulation in Bacteria.

ABSTRACT: An increasing number of studies have reported that bacterial DNA methylation has important functions beyond the roles in restriction-modification systems, including the ability of affecting clinically relevant phenotypes such as virulence, host colonization, sporulation, biofilm formation, among others. Although insightful, such studies have a largely ad hoc nature and would benefit from a systematic strategy enabling a joint functional characterization of bacterial methylomes by the microbiology community. In this opinion article, we propose that highly conserved DNA methyltransferases (MTases) represent a unique opportunity for bacterial epigenomic studies. These MTases are rather common in bacteria, span various taxonomic scales, and are present in multiple human pathogens. Apart from w

SUBMITTER: Oliveira PH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7666040 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature