Definitions

  • Methylation: a process by which methyl groups are added to the DNA molecule

Features

  • can change the activity of a DNA region without changing the sequence
  • in the promoter, DNA methylation represses gene transcription
  • cytosine and adenine can be methylated mostly
  • GC- and CpG-rich sequences called CpG islands
  • CpG island is methylated in higher ratios, caused by the  high cytosine content
  • 50% of CpG islands are located in gene promoter regions
  • DNA methylation is the most stable (heritable) epigenetic mark
  • Transcription activation:

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