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Anderson JA, Lin D, Lea AJ, Johnston RA, Voyles T, Akinyi MY, Archie EA, Alberts SC, Tung J. DNA methylation signatures of early-life adversity are exposure-dependent in wild baboons. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2309469121. [PMID: 38442181 PMCID: PMC10945818 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2309469121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/13/2023] [Indexed: 03/07/2024] Open
Abstract
The early-life environment can profoundly shape the trajectory of an animal's life, even years or decades later. One mechanism proposed to contribute to these early-life effects is DNA methylation. However, the frequency and functional importance of DNA methylation in shaping early-life effects on adult outcomes is poorly understood, especially in natural populations. Here, we integrate prospectively collected data on fitness-associated variation in the early environment with DNA methylation estimates at 477,270 CpG sites in 256 wild baboons. We find highly heterogeneous relationships between the early-life environment and DNA methylation in adulthood: aspects of the environment linked to resource limitation (e.g., low-quality habitat, early-life drought) are associated with many more CpG sites than other types of environmental stressors (e.g., low maternal social status). Sites associated with early resource limitation are enriched in gene bodies and putative enhancers, suggesting they are functionally relevant. Indeed, by deploying a baboon-specific, massively parallel reporter assay, we show that a subset of windows containing these sites are capable of regulatory activity, and that, for 88% of early drought-associated sites in these regulatory windows, enhancer activity is DNA methylation-dependent. Together, our results support the idea that DNA methylation patterns contain a persistent signature of the early-life environment. However, they also indicate that not all environmental exposures leave an equivalent mark and suggest that socioenvironmental variation at the time of sampling is more likely to be functionally important. Thus, multiple mechanisms must converge to explain early-life effects on fitness-related traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan A. Anderson
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC27708
| | - Dana Lin
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC27708
| | - Amanda J. Lea
- Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Child & Brain Development Program, Toronto, ONM5G 1M1, Canada
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN37235
| | | | - Tawni Voyles
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC27708
| | - Mercy Y. Akinyi
- Institute of Primate Research, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi00502, Kenya
| | - Elizabeth A. Archie
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN46556
| | - Susan C. Alberts
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC27708
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC27708
- Duke Population Research Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC27708
| | - Jenny Tung
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC27708
- Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Child & Brain Development Program, Toronto, ONM5G 1M1, Canada
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC27708
- Duke Population Research Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC27708
- Department of Primate Behavior and Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig04103, Germany
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2
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Anderson JA, Lin D, Lea AJ, Johnston RA, Voyles T, Akinyi MY, Archie EA, Alberts SC, Tung J. DNA methylation signatures of early life adversity are exposure-dependent in wild baboons. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.06.05.542485. [PMID: 37333311 PMCID: PMC10274726 DOI: 10.1101/2023.06.05.542485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/20/2023]
Abstract
The early life environment can profoundly shape the trajectory of an animal's life, even years or decades later. One mechanism proposed to contribute to these early life effects is DNA methylation. However, the frequency and functional importance of DNA methylation in shaping early life effects on adult outcomes is poorly understood, especially in natural populations. Here, we integrate prospectively collected data on fitness-associated variation in the early environment with DNA methylation estimates at 477,270 CpG sites in 256 wild baboons. We find highly heterogeneous relationships between the early life environment and DNA methylation in adulthood: aspects of the environment linked to resource limitation (e.g., low-quality habitat, early life drought) are associated with many more CpG sites than other types of environmental stressors (e.g., low maternal social status). Sites associated with early resource limitation are enriched in gene bodies and putative enhancers, suggesting they are functionally relevant. Indeed, by deploying a baboon-specific, massively parallel reporter assay, we show that a subset of windows containing these sites are capable of regulatory activity, and that, for 88% of early drought-associated sites in these regulatory windows, enhancer activity is DNA methylation-dependent. Together, our results support the idea that DNA methylation patterns contain a persistent signature of the early life environment. However, they also indicate that not all environmental exposures leave an equivalent mark and suggest that socioenvironmental variation at the time of sampling is more likely to be functionally important. Thus, multiple mechanisms must converge to explain early life effects on fitness-related traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan A Anderson
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
| | - Dana Lin
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
| | - Amanda J Lea
- Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, Canada M5G 1M1, Canada
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, 37235, USA
| | - Rachel A Johnston
- Zoo New England, Stoneham, Massachusetts, 02180
- Broad Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02142
| | - Tawni Voyles
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
| | - Mercy Y Akinyi
- Institute of Primate Research, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi 00502, Kenya
| | - Elizabeth A Archie
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA
| | - Susan C Alberts
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
- Duke Population Research Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Jenny Tung
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
- Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, Canada M5G 1M1, Canada
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
- Duke Population Research Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
- Department of Primate Behavior and Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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3
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A Hidden Markov Model for predicting the methylome of the DNA adenine methyltransferase in bacterial genome. GENE REPORTS 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.genrep.2022.101633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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4
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Vijg J. From DNA damage to mutations: All roads lead to aging. Ageing Res Rev 2021; 68:101316. [PMID: 33711511 PMCID: PMC10018438 DOI: 10.1016/j.arr.2021.101316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2020] [Revised: 02/26/2021] [Accepted: 03/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Damage to the repository of genetic information in cells has plagued life since its very beginning 3-4 billion years ago. Initially, in the absence of an ozone layer, especially damage from solar UV radiation must have been frequent, with other sources, most notably endogenous sources related to cell metabolism, gaining in importance over time. To cope with this high frequency of damage to the increasingly long DNA molecules that came to encode the growing complexity of cellular functions in cells, DNA repair evolved as one of the earliest genetic traits. Then as now, errors during the repair of DNA damage generated mutations, which provide the substrate for evolution by natural selection. With the emergence of multicellular organisms also the soma became a target of DNA damage and mutations. In somatic cells selection against the adverse effects of DNA damage is greatly diminished, especially in postmitotic cells after the age of first reproduction. Based on an abundance of evidence, DNA damage is now considered as the single most important driver of the degenerative processes that collectively cause aging. Here I will first briefly review the evidence for DNA damage as a cause of aging since the beginning of life. Then, after discussing the possible direct adverse effects of DNA damage and its cellular responses, I will provide an overview of the considerable progress that has recently been made in analyzing a major consequence of DNA damage in humans and other complex organisms: somatic mutations and the resulting genome mosaicism. Recent advances in studying somatic mutagenesis and genome mosaicism in different human and animal tissues will be discussed with a focus on the possible mechanisms through which loss of DNA sequence integrity could cause age-related functional decline and disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Vijg
- Department of Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA; Center for Single-Cell Omics, School of Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
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5
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Hairpin-Bisulfite PCR. Methods Mol Biol 2021; 2198:287-299. [PMID: 32822039 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-0876-0_22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Ligation of a hairpin oligonucleotide to genomic DNA prior to bisulfite conversion and PCR amplification physically links the two complementary DNA strands. This additional step in the conversion procedure overcomes the limitations of conventional bisulfite sequencing where information of the cytosine methylation status is only obtained from one of the two strands of an individual DNA molecule. Sequences derived from hairpin bisulfite PCR products reveal the dynamics of this epigenetic memory system on both strands of individual DNA molecules. The chapter describes a reliable step-by-step procedure to generate hairpin-linked DNA. It also provides a guide for efficient bisulfite conversion that is suitable for both conventional and hairpin bisulfite sequencing approaches.
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6
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Luck A, Giehr P, Nordstrom K, Walter J, Wolf V. Hidden Markov Modelling Reveals Neighborhood Dependence of Dnmt3a and 3b Activity. IEEE/ACM TRANSACTIONS ON COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY AND BIOINFORMATICS 2019; 16:1598-1609. [PMID: 31027045 DOI: 10.1109/tcbb.2019.2910814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
DNA methylation is an epigenetic mark whose important role in development has been widely recognized. This epigenetic modification results in heritable information not encoded by the DNA sequence. The underlying mechanisms controlling DNA methylation are only partly understood. Several mechanistic models of enzyme activities responsible for DNA methylation have been proposed. Here, we extend existing Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) for DNA methylation by describing the occurrence of spatial methylation patterns over time and propose several models with different neighborhood dependences. Furthermore, we investigate correlations between the neighborhood dependence and other genomic information. We perform numerical analysis of the HMMs applied to comprehensive hairpin and non-hairpin bisulfite sequencing measurements and accurately predict wild-type data. We find evidence that the activities of Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b responsible for de novo methylation depend on 5' (left) but not on 3' (right) neighboring CpGs in a sequencing string.
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7
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Choi M, Genereux DP, Goodson J, Al-Azzawi H, Allain SQ, Simon N, Palasek S, Ware CB, Cavanaugh C, Miller DG, Johnson WC, Sinclair KD, Stöger R, Laird CD. Epigenetic memory via concordant DNA methylation is inversely correlated to developmental potential of mammalian cells. PLoS Genet 2017; 13:e1007060. [PMID: 29107996 PMCID: PMC5690686 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1007060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2017] [Revised: 11/16/2017] [Accepted: 10/08/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
In storing and transmitting epigenetic information, organisms must balance the need to maintain information about past conditions with the capacity to respond to information in their current and future environments. Some of this information is encoded by DNA methylation, which can be transmitted with variable fidelity from parent to daughter strand. High fidelity confers strong pattern matching between the strands of individual DNA molecules and thus pattern stability over rounds of DNA replication; lower fidelity confers reduced pattern matching, and thus greater flexibility. Here, we present a new conceptual framework, Ratio of Concordance Preference (RCP), that uses double-stranded methylation data to quantify the flexibility and stability of the system that gave rise to a given set of patterns. We find that differentiated mammalian cells operate with high DNA methylation stability, consistent with earlier reports. Stem cells in culture and in embryos, in contrast, operate with reduced, albeit significant, methylation stability. We conclude that preference for concordant DNA methylation is a consistent mode of information transfer, and thus provides epigenetic stability across cell divisions, even in stem cells and those undergoing developmental transitions. Broader application of our RCP framework will permit comparison of epigenetic-information systems across cells, developmental stages, and organisms whose methylation machineries differ substantially or are not yet well understood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minseung Choi
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
- Department of Computer Science, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
| | - Diane P. Genereux
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Jamie Goodson
- Department of Pathology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Haneen Al-Azzawi
- School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough, Leicestershire, United Kingdom
| | - Shannon Q. Allain
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Noah Simon
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Stan Palasek
- Department of Mathematics, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
| | - Carol B. Ware
- Department of Comparative Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
- Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Chris Cavanaugh
- Department of Comparative Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
- Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Daniel G. Miller
- Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Winslow C. Johnson
- Department of Biology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Kevin D. Sinclair
- School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough, Leicestershire, United Kingdom
| | - Reinhard Stöger
- School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough, Leicestershire, United Kingdom
| | - Charles D. Laird
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
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8
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High-coverage methylation data of a gene model before and after DNA damage and homologous repair. Sci Data 2017; 4:170043. [PMID: 28398335 PMCID: PMC5387920 DOI: 10.1038/sdata.2017.43] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2016] [Accepted: 02/27/2017] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Genome-wide methylation analysis is limited by its low coverage and the inability to detect single variants below 10%. Quantitative analysis provides accurate information on the extent of methylation of single CpG dinucleotide, but it does not measure the actual polymorphism of the methylation profiles of single molecules. To understand the polymorphism of DNA methylation and to decode the methylation signatures before and after DNA damage and repair, we have deep sequenced in bisulfite-treated DNA a reporter gene undergoing site-specific DNA damage and homologous repair. In this paper, we provide information on the data generation, the rationale for the experiments and the type of assays used, such as cytofluorimetry and immunoblot data derived during a previous work published in Scientific Reports, describing the methylation and expression changes of a model gene (GFP) before and after formation of a double-strand break and repair by homologous-recombination or non-homologous-end-joining. These data provide: 1) a reference for the analysis of methylation polymorphism at selected loci in complex cell populations; 2) a platform and the tools to compare transcription and methylation profiles.
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9
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DNA damage and Repair Modify DNA methylation and Chromatin Domain of the Targeted Locus: Mechanism of allele methylation polymorphism. Sci Rep 2016; 6:33222. [PMID: 27629060 PMCID: PMC5024116 DOI: 10.1038/srep33222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2016] [Accepted: 08/23/2016] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
We characterize the changes in chromatin structure, DNA methylation and transcription during and after homologous DNA repair (HR). We find that HR modifies the DNA methylation pattern of the repaired segment. HR also alters local histone H3 methylation as well chromatin structure by inducing DNA-chromatin loops connecting the 5' and 3' ends of the repaired gene. During a two-week period after repair, transcription-associated demethylation promoted by Base Excision Repair enzymes further modifies methylation of the repaired DNA. Subsequently, the repaired genes display stable but diverse methylation profiles. These profiles govern the levels of expression in each clone. Our data argue that DNA methylation and chromatin remodelling induced by HR may be a source of permanent variation of gene expression in somatic cells.
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10
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Big data analysis using modern statistical and machine learning methods in medicine. Int Neurourol J 2014; 18:50-7. [PMID: 24987556 PMCID: PMC4076480 DOI: 10.5213/inj.2014.18.2.50] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2014] [Accepted: 06/20/2014] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
In this article we introduce modern statistical machine learning and bioinformatics approaches that have been used in learning statistical relationships from big data in medicine and behavioral science that typically include clinical, genomic (and proteomic) and environmental variables. Every year, data collected from biomedical and behavioral science is getting larger and more complicated. Thus, in medicine, we also need to be aware of this trend and understand the statistical tools that are available to analyze these datasets. Many statistical analyses that are aimed to analyze such big datasets have been introduced recently. However, given many different types of clinical, genomic, and environmental data, it is rather uncommon to see statistical methods that combine knowledge resulting from those different data types. To this extent, we will introduce big data in terms of clinical data, single nucleotide polymorphism and gene expression studies and their interactions with environment. In this article, we will introduce the concept of well-known regression analyses such as linear and logistic regressions that has been widely used in clinical data analyses and modern statistical models such as Bayesian networks that has been introduced to analyze more complicated data. Also we will discuss how to represent the interaction among clinical, genomic, and environmental data in using modern statistical models. We conclude this article with a promising modern statistical method called Bayesian networks that is suitable in analyzing big data sets that consists with different type of large data from clinical, genomic, and environmental data. Such statistical model form big data will provide us with more comprehensive understanding of human physiology and disease.
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11
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Zhao L, Sun MA, Li Z, Bai X, Yu M, Wang M, Liang L, Shao X, Arnovitz S, Wang Q, He C, Lu X, Chen J, Xie H. The dynamics of DNA methylation fidelity during mouse embryonic stem cell self-renewal and differentiation. Genome Res 2014; 24:1296-307. [PMID: 24835587 PMCID: PMC4120083 DOI: 10.1101/gr.163147.113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
The faithful transmission of DNA methylation patterns through cell divisions is essential for the daughter cells to retain a proper cell identity. To achieve a comprehensive assessment of methylation fidelity, we implemented a genome-scale hairpin bisulfite sequencing approach to generate methylation data for DNA double strands simultaneously. We show here that methylation fidelity increases globally during differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs), and is particularly high in the promoter regions of actively expressed genes and positively correlated with active histone modification marks and binding of transcription factors. The majority of intermediately (40%–60%) methylated CpG dinucleotides are hemi-methylated and have low methylation fidelity, particularly in the differentiating mESCs. While 5-hmC and 5-mC tend to coexist, there is no significant correlation between 5-hmC levels and methylation fidelity. Our findings may shed new light on our understanding of the origins of methylation variations and the mechanisms underlying DNA methylation transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Zhao
- Laboratory of Genome Variation and Precision Biomedicine, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Ming-An Sun
- Epigenomics and Computational Biology Lab, Virginia Bioinformatics Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24060, USA
| | - Zejuan Li
- Section of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA
| | - Xue Bai
- Laboratory of Genome Variation and Precision Biomedicine, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Miao Yu
- Department of Chemistry and Institute for Biophysical Dynamics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA
| | - Min Wang
- Epigenomics and Computational Biology Lab, Virginia Bioinformatics Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24060, USA
| | - Liji Liang
- Laboratory of Genome Variation and Precision Biomedicine, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Xiaojian Shao
- Laboratory of Genome Variation and Precision Biomedicine, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Stephen Arnovitz
- Section of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA
| | - Qianfei Wang
- Laboratory of Genome Variation and Precision Biomedicine, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Chuan He
- Department of Chemistry and Institute for Biophysical Dynamics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA
| | - Xuemei Lu
- Laboratory of Genome Variation and Precision Biomedicine, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Jianjun Chen
- Section of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA
| | - Hehuang Xie
- Laboratory of Genome Variation and Precision Biomedicine, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Epigenomics and Computational Biology Lab, Virginia Bioinformatics Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24060, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24060, USA
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12
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Morano A, Angrisano T, Russo G, Landi R, Pezone A, Bartollino S, Zuchegna C, Babbio F, Bonapace IM, Allen B, Muller MT, Chiariotti L, Gottesman ME, Porcellini A, Avvedimento EV. Targeted DNA methylation by homology-directed repair in mammalian cells. Transcription reshapes methylation on the repaired gene. Nucleic Acids Res 2013; 42:804-21. [PMID: 24137009 PMCID: PMC3902918 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkt920] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
We report that homology-directed repair of a DNA double-strand break within a single copy Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) gene in HeLa cells alters the methylation pattern at the site of recombination. DNA methyl transferase (DNMT)1, DNMT3a and two proteins that regulate methylation, Np95 and GADD45A, are recruited to the site of repair and are responsible for selective methylation of the promoter-distal segment of the repaired DNA. The initial methylation pattern of the locus is modified in a transcription-dependent fashion during the 15–20 days following repair, at which time no further changes in the methylation pattern occur. The variation in DNA modification generates stable clones with wide ranges of GFP expression. Collectively, our data indicate that somatic DNA methylation follows homologous repair and is subjected to remodeling by local transcription in a discrete time window during and after the damage. We propose that DNA methylation of repaired genes represents a DNA damage code and is source of variation of gene expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annalisa Morano
- Dipartimento di Medicina Molecolare e Biotecnologie mediche, Istituto di Endocrinologia ed Oncologia Sperimentale del C.N.R., Università Federico II, 80131 Napoli, Italy, IRCCS CROB, Dipartimento di Oncologia Sperimentale, via Padre Pio, 1 85028 Rionero in Vulture, Italy, Dipartimento di Medicina e di Scienze della Salute, Università del Molise, 86100 Campobasso, Itay, Dipartimento di Biologia, Università Federico II, 80126 Napoli, Italy, Dipartimento di Biologia Strutturale e Funzionale, Università dell'Insubria, Varese 21100, Italy, Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology and Biomolecular Science Center, University of Central Florida, 12722 Research Parkway, Orlando, FL 32826, USA and Institute of Cancer Research, Departments of Microbiology and Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
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13
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Becker C, Weigel D. Epigenetic variation: origin and transgenerational inheritance. CURRENT OPINION IN PLANT BIOLOGY 2012; 15:562-7. [PMID: 22939250 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbi.2012.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2012] [Accepted: 08/16/2012] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Recent studies have revealed that epigenetic variation in plant populations exceeds genetic diversity and that it is influenced by the environment. Nevertheless, epigenetic differences are not entirely independent of shared ancestry. Epigenetic modifications have gained increasing attention, because one can now study their patterns across the entire genome and in many different individuals. Not only do epigenetic phenomena modulate the activity of the genome in response to environmental stimuli, but they also constitute a potential source of natural variation. Understanding the emergence and heritability of epigenetic variants is critical for understanding how they might become subject to natural selection and thus affect genetic diversity. Here we review progress in characterizing natural epigenetic variants in model and nonmodel plant species and how this work is helping to delineate the role of epigenetic changes in evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claude Becker
- Department of Molecular Biology, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
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14
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Fu AQ, Genereux DP, Stöger R, Burden AF, Laird CD, Stephens M. Statistical inference of in vivo properties of human DNA methyltransferases from double-stranded methylation patterns. PLoS One 2012; 7:e32225. [PMID: 22442664 PMCID: PMC3307717 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0032225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2011] [Accepted: 01/24/2012] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
DNA methyltransferases establish methylation patterns in cells and transmit these patterns over cell generations, thereby influencing each cell's epigenetic states. Three primary DNA methyltransferases have been identified in mammals: DNMT1, DNMT3A and DNMT3B. Extensive in vitro studies have investigated key properties of these enzymes, namely their substrate specificity and processivity. Here we study these properties in vivo, by applying novel statistical analysis methods to double-stranded DNA methylation patterns collected using hairpin-bisulfite PCR. Our analysis fits a novel Hidden Markov Model (HMM) to the observed data, allowing for potential bisulfite conversion errors, and yields statistical estimates of parameters that quantify enzyme processivity and substrate specificity. We apply this model to methylation patterns established in vivo at three loci in humans: two densely methylated inactive X (Xi)-linked loci (FMR1 and G6PD), and an autosomal locus (LEP), where methylation densities are tissue-specific but moderate. We find strong evidence for a high level of processivity of DNMT1 at FMR1 and G6PD, with the mean association tract length being a few hundred base pairs. Regardless of tissue types, methylation patterns at LEP are dominated by DNMT1 maintenance events, similar to the two Xi-linked loci, but are insufficiently informative regarding processivity to draw any conclusions about processivity at that locus. At all three loci we find that DNMT1 shows a strong preference for adding methyl groups to hemi-methylated CpG sites over unmethylated sites. The data at all three loci also suggest low (possibly 0) association of the de novo methyltransferases, the DNMT3s, and are consequently uninformative about processivity or preference of these enzymes. We also extend our HMM to reanalyze published data on mouse DNMT1 activities in vitro. The results suggest shorter association tracts (and hence weaker processivity), and much longer non-association tracts than human DNMT1 in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Audrey Q Fu
- Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, Cambridge Systems Biology Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
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van Montfoort APA, Hanssen LLP, de Sutter P, Viville S, Geraedts JPM, de Boer P. Assisted reproduction treatment and epigenetic inheritance. Hum Reprod Update 2012; 18:171-97. [PMID: 22267841 PMCID: PMC3282574 DOI: 10.1093/humupd/dmr047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 140] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The subject of epigenetic risk of assisted reproduction treatment (ART), initiated by reports on an increase of children with the Beckwith–Wiedemann imprinting disorder, is very topical. Hence, there is a growing literature, including mouse studies. METHODS In order to gain information on transgenerational epigenetic inheritance and epigenetic effects induced by ART, literature databases were searched for papers on this topic using relevant keywords. RESULTS At the level of genomic imprinting involving CpG methylation, ART-induced epigenetic defects are convincingly observed in mice, especially for placenta, and seem more frequent than in humans. Data generally provide a warning as to the use of ovulation induction and in vitro culture. In human sperm from compromised spermatogenesis, sequence-specific DNA hypomethylation is observed repeatedly. Transmittance of sperm and oocyte DNA methylation defects is possible but, as deduced from the limited data available, largely prevented by selection of gametes for ART and/or non-viability of the resulting embryos. Some evidence indicates that subfertility itself is a risk factor for imprinting diseases. As in mouse, physiological effects from ART are observed in humans. In the human, indications for a broader target for changes in CpG methylation than imprinted DNA sequences alone have been found. In the mouse, a broader range of CpG sequences has not yet been studied. Also, a multigeneration study of systematic ART on epigenetic parameters is lacking. CONCLUSIONS The field of epigenetic inheritance within the lifespan of an individual and between generations (via mitosis and meiosis, respectively) is growing, driven by the expansion of chromatin research. ART can induce epigenetic variation that might be transmitted to the next generation.
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Affiliation(s)
- A P A van Montfoort
- Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, GROW School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
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