Removing R-loops Regulates Repression: Revealing the Role of LSD1April 19, 2021Epigenetic regulatory cascades can be complex affairs…to say the least. Thankfully, a recent chromatin effector coregulator-based study now keeps us firmly in the loop by revealing how a histone demethylase induces gene repression by triggering a regulatory cascade that removes RNA:DNA hybrid structures known as R-loops! A talented team led by Philipp Rathert (University of […]
Methylation’s Moonlighting Mysteries: DNMT3L’s Divergent Roles in Down SyndromeApril 12, 2021By daylight, DNA methyltransferase 3L (DNMT3L) takes on the modest role of a catalytically inactive but stimulatory binding partner for its more popular methyltransferase siblings (DNMT3A and DNMT3B). But, when the sun goes down, DNMT3L gives new meaning to protein moonlighting. DNMT3L is located on chromosome 21, which has made it a prime candidate for the Down syndrome […]
A “Batty” New Epigenetic Clock Provides Clues About Healthy AgingApril 8, 2021Are you cuckoo for clocks, dotty for DNA methylation, and avid about aging? Well, a “batty” new study of epigenetic aging in certain long-lived winged mammals has just added to the zoo of clues about epigenetic age by providing a bat epigenetic clock. Specifically, an ardent team of researchers led by the levels heads of […]
From Single Molecules to Single Cells: NanoMethPhase and scMspJI-seq Upgrade DNA Methylation Mining MethodsApril 2, 2021Mining the DNA methylome can provide a treasure trove of biological insight, and two new whole-genome DNA methylation sequencing methods have come along to fuel a technological gold rush. NanoMethPhase and scMspJI-seq break new ground in phasing allele-specific methylation (ASM) and generating strand-specific single-cell methylomes. By applying these novel approaches, the talented teams dig deep into complex DNA […]
The Solution to Stop Stress Susceptibility: Spiny Neuron Histone H3K79me2 ModificationsMarch 29, 2021Many of us dream of a quick fix to being so stressed all the time, and now that reality may not be so far off thanks to the identification of a histone modification behind the life-long effects of early-life stress (ELS). The nucleus accumbens is a brain region important for dopamine signaling and reward behavior. […]
