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The constant variation: DNA methylation changes during preimplantation development
Author(s) -
Arányi Tamás,
Páldi András
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/j.febslet.2006.11.018
Subject(s) - dna methylation , methylation , biology , cytosine , epigenetics , dna , genetics , embryo , gene , gene expression
Studies on the DNA methylation changes in the mouse preimplantation embryo suggested a simple and attractive model explaining the process believed to be general in mammals. However, recent reports revealed marked differences between different species that abrogates the universal validity of the model. In order to find an explanation to the differences, we have analyzed the published mouse data and compared them to the observations available in other species. The emerging common theme is the high variability of the methylation at all scales of observation and all levels of organization. This variability is the likely consequence of a dynamic and active redistribution process of the cytosine methylation in the genome.