PNAS:福建农林大学发表基因甲基化的研究文章

近日《PNAS》杂志发表福建农林大学海峡联合研究院王海峰博士和以色列•奥辛教授在题为“CG gene body DNA methylation changes and evolution of duplicated genes in cassava”的研究论文。其中，福建农林大学海峡联合研究院王海峰博士为第一作者，以色列•奥辛教授为论文通讯作者。

DNA甲基化对基因的表达和转座原件沉默的维持有非常重要的作用。人们对DNA甲基化的了解和认识基本上都源于模式生物拟南芥，很少有作物方面的研究数据。木薯作为非洲的主要农作物，具有抗旱等特性。本文解析木薯全基因组的甲基化图谱，为科学、农业领域提供非常重要的资源。

原文链接：

CG GENE body DNA methylation changes and evolution of duplicated genes in cassava

原文摘要：

DNA methylation is important for the regulation of gene expression and the silencing of transposons in plants. Here we present genome-wide methylation patterns at single-base pair resolution for cassava (Manihot esculenta, cultivar TME 7), a crop with a substantial impact in the agriculture of subtropical and tropical regions. On average, DNA methylation levels were higher in all three DNA sequence contexts (CG, CHG, and CHH, where H equals A, T, or C) than those of the most well-studied model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. As in other plants, DNA methylation was found both on transposons and in the transcribed regions (bodies) of many genes. Consistent with these patterns, at least one cassava gene copy of all of the known components of Arabidopsis DNA methylation pathways was identified. Methylation of LTR transposons (GYPSY and COPIA) was found to be unusually high compared with other types of transposons, suggesting that the control of the activity of these two types of transposons may be especially important. Analysis of duplicated gene pairs resulting from whole-genome duplication showed that gene body DNA methylation and gene expression levels have coevolved over short evolutionary time scales, reinforcing the positive relationship between gene body methylation and high levels of gene expression. Duplicated genes with the most divergent gene body methylation and expression patterns were found to have distinct biological functions and may have been under natural or human selection for cassava traits.

doi: 10.1073/PNAS.1519067112

作者：以色列•奥辛