Functional CpG Methylation System in a Social Insect

doi:10.1126/science.1135213

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Science 27 October 2006:
Vol. 314. no. 5799, pp. 645 - 647
DOI: 10.1126/science.1135213

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Reports

Functional CpG Methylation System in a Social Insect

Ying Wang,¹ Mireia Jorda,² Peter L. Jones,¹ Ryszard Maleszka,³ Xu Ling,⁴ Hugh M. Robertson,⁵^,6^,7 Craig A. Mizzen,¹^,6 Miguel A. Peinado,² Gene E. Robinson⁵^,6^,7^*

DNA methylation systems are well characterized in vertebrates,but methylation in Drosophila melanogaster and other invertebratesremains controversial. Using the recently sequenced honey beegenome, we present a bioinformatic, molecular, and biochemicalcharacterization of a functional DNA methylation system in aninsect. We report on catalytically active orthologs of the vertebrateDNA methyltransferases Dnmt1 and Dnmt3a and b, two isoformsthat contain a methyl-DNA binding domain, genomic 5-methyl-deoxycytosine,and CpG-methylated genes. The honey bee provides an opportunityto study the roles of methylation in social contexts.

¹ Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
² IDIBELL–Cancer Research Institute, L'Hospitalet 08907, Catalonia, Spain.
³ Visual Sciences and Australian Research Council Centre for Molecular Genetics of Development, Research School of Biological Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
⁴ Department of Computer Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
⁵ Department of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
⁶ Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
⁷ Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: generobi{at}life.uiuc.edu

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NEWS OF THE WEEK GENETICS: Honey Bee Genome Illuminates Insect Evolution and Social Behavior: Elizabeth Pennisi (27 October 2006)
Science 314 (5799), 578. [DOI: 10.1126/science.314.5799.578]
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