Integrating DNA methylation dynamics into a framework for understanding epigenetic codes

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Keith E. Szulwach, Emory University; Peng Jin, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2014-01-01
• Publisher: Wiley: 12 months
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2014 WILEY Periodicals, Inc.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bies.201300090
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: BioEssays
• ISSN: 0265-9247
• Volume: 36
• Issue: 1
• Start Page: 107
• End Page: 117
• Grant/Funding Information: This work was supported in part by NIH grants NS079625 and HD073162 (P.J.).
• Keywords: MAMMALIAN DNA; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Biochemistry & Molecular Biology; Science & Technology; GENOME-WIDE ANALYSIS; 5-HYDROXYMETHYLCYTOSINE; Biology; EPIGENOMIC ANALYSIS; HISTONE DEACETYLASE; DNA demethylation; CPG ISLANDS; chromatin; epigenetics; DNA methylation; THYMINE DNA; ACUTE MYELOID-LEUKEMIA; ACETYLGLUCOSAMINE TRANSFERASE OGT; TET PROTEINS; Life Sciences & Biomedicine - Other Topics
• Research Categories: Biology, Neuroscience; Biology, Genetics

Abstract

Genomic function is dictated by a combination of DNA sequence and the molecular mechanisms controlling access to genetic information. Access to DNA can be determined by the interpretation of covalent modifications that influence the packaging of DNA into chromatin, including DNA methylation and histone modifications. These modifications are believed to be forms of "epigenetic codes" that exist in discernable combinations that reflect cellular phenotype. Although DNA methylation is known to play important roles in gene regulation and genomic function, its contribution to the encoding of epigenetic information is just beginning to emerge. Here we discuss paradigms associated with the various components of DNA methylation/demethylation and recent advances in the understanding of its dynamic regulation in the genome, integrating these mechanisms into a framework to explain how DNA methylation could contribute to epigenetic codes. DNA methylation regulates gene expression and influences cellular phenotypes, thereby encoding information on the genome. Recently it has been appreciated that DNA methylation may be dynamically regulated. This essay discusses the integration of DNA methylation into epigenetic codes, summarizing paradigm shifts related to the dynamic encoding of epigenetic information.