PUBLICATION

Developmental enhancers revealed by extensive DNA methylome maps of zebrafish early embryos

Authors
Lee, H.J., Lowdon, R.F., Maricque, B., Zhang, B., Stevens, M., Li, D., Johnson, S.L., Wang, T.
ID
ZDB-PUB-150224-20
Date
2015
Source
Nature communications   6: 6315 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Johnson, Stephen L., Lee, Hyung Joo, Zhang, Bo
Keywords
none
Datasets
GEO:GSE52704, GEO:GSE52706, GEO:GSE52703
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • CpG Islands
  • DNA/metabolism
  • DNA Methylation*
  • Embryonic Development/genetics
  • Enhancer Elements, Genetic*
  • Epigenesis, Genetic
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental*
  • Gene Library
  • Gene Regulatory Networks
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins/metabolism
  • Histones/chemistry
  • Male
  • Promoter Regions, Genetic
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA
  • Signal Transduction
  • Zebrafish/embryology*
PubMed
25697895 Full text @ Nat. Commun.
Abstract
DNA methylation undergoes dynamic changes during development and cell differentiation. Recent genome-wide studies discovered that tissue-specific differentially methylated regions (DMRs) often overlap tissue-specific distal cis-regulatory elements. However, developmental DNA methylation dynamics of the majority of the genomic CpGs outside gene promoters and CpG islands has not been extensively characterized. Here, we generate and compare comprehensive DNA methylome maps of zebrafish developing embryos. From these maps, we identify thousands of developmental stage-specific DMRs (dsDMRs) across zebrafish developmental stages. The dsDMRs contain evolutionarily conserved sequences, are associated with developmental genes and are marked with active enhancer histone posttranslational modifications. Their methylation pattern correlates much stronger than promoter methylation with expression of putative target genes. When tested in vivo using a transgenic zebrafish assay, 20 out of 20 selected candidate dsDMRs exhibit functional enhancer activities. Our data suggest that developmental enhancers are a major target of DNA methylation changes during embryogenesis.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Show all Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping