N⁶-methyladenine in DNA antagonizes SATB1 in early development.

ABSTRACT: The recent discovery of N⁶-methyladenine (N⁶-mA) in mammalian genomes suggests that it may serve as an epigenetic regulatory mechanism¹. However, the biological role of N⁶-mA and the molecular pathways that exert its function remain unclear. Here we show that N⁶-mA has a key role in changing the epigenetic landscape during cell fate transitions in early development. We found that N⁶-mA is upregulated during the development of mouse trophoblast stem cells, specifically at regions of stress-induced DNA double helix destabilization (SIDD)^2-4. Regions of SIDD are conducive to topological stress-induced unpairing of the double helix and have critical roles in organizing large-scale chromatin structures^3,5,6.

SUBMITTER: Li Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8596487 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature