Research Progress in the Application of DNA Methyltransferases in Epigenetics

doi:10.13560/j.cnki.biotech.bull.1985.2024-0526

Abstract

Abstract:

DNA methyltransferases are a class of enzymes that play a key role in the process of DNA methylation. In living organisms, DNA methyltransferases add methyl groups to nucleic acid molecules, introduce DNA methylation modifications, alter epigenetic modifications, and regulate gene expression. DNA methyltransferases can be in fusion recombination expression in vitro and introduce into cells to have artificial DNA methylation modifications on chromatin. Taking advantage of this feature, in recent years, researchers have developed a variety of epigenetic sequencing technologies based on DNA methyltransferases by methylation labeling of specific locations in the genome, combined with high-throughput sequencing. These applications include chromatin accessibility measurement, nucleosome localization, transcription factor footprints, and histone modification assays. These techniques can obtain not only epigenetic information, but also genomic information and endogenous DNA methylation information, thus they have gradually become the important methods of epigenetics. In this paper, we briefly introduce the previous research methods, review the principles and applications of a variety of recent technologies based on DNA methyltransferase for the detection of epigenetic modifications, and discuss and prospect their future development, aiming to provide a reference for epigenetic research.

Key words: DNA methyltransferase, DNA methylation, chromatin accessibility, DNA-protein interaction, sequencing technology

ZHOU Wen-jian, CUI Xiao-nan, SHI Wei-yang. Research Progress in the Application of DNA Methyltransferases in Epigenetics[J]. Biotechnology Bulletin, 2025, 41(2): 30-39.

Figures/Tables 4

References 57

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