Case Study of the Response of N⁶-Methyladenine DNA Modification to Environmental Stressors in the Unicellular Eukaryote Tetrahymena thermophila.

ABSTRACT: Rediscovered as a potential epigenetic mark, N⁶-methyladenine DNA modification (6mA) was recently reported to be sensitive to environmental stressors in several multicellular eukaryotes. As 6mA distribution and function differ significantly in multicellular and unicellular organisms, whether and how 6mA in unicellular eukaryotes responds to environmental stress remains elusive. Here, we characterized the dynamic changes of 6mA under starvation in the unicellular model organism Tetrahymena thermophila. Single-molecule, real-time (SMRT) sequencing reveals that DNA 6mA levels in starved cells are significantly reduced, especially symmetric 6mA, compared to those in vegetatively growing cells. Despite a global 6mA reduction, the fraction of asymmetric 6mA with a high methylation lev

SUBMITTER: Sheng Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8265677 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature