Recurrent acquisition of cytosine methyltransferases into eukaryotic retrotransposons

Alex de Mendoza (), Amandine Bonnet, Dulce B. Vargas-Landin, Nanjing Ji, Hongfei Li, Feng Yang, Ling Li, Koichi Hori, Jahnvi Pflueger, Sam Buckberry, Hiroyuki Ohta, Nedeljka Rosic, Pascale Lesage, Senjie Lin and Ryan Lister ()
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Alex de Mendoza: The University of Western Australia
Amandine Bonnet: Hôpital St. Louis
Dulce B. Vargas-Landin: The University of Western Australia
Nanjing Ji: Xiamen University
Hongfei Li: Xiamen University
Feng Yang: Xiamen University
Ling Li: Xiamen University
Koichi Hori: Tokyo Institute of Technology
Jahnvi Pflueger: The University of Western Australia
Sam Buckberry: The University of Western Australia
Hiroyuki Ohta: Tokyo Institute of Technology
Nedeljka Rosic: Southern Cross University
Pascale Lesage: Hôpital St. Louis
Senjie Lin: Xiamen University
Ryan Lister: The University of Western Australia

Nature Communications, 2018, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Transposable elements are in a constant arms race with the silencing mechanisms of their host genomes. One silencing mechanism commonly used by many eukaryotes is dependent on cytosine methylation, a covalent modification of DNA deposited by C5 cytosine methyltransferases (DNMTs). Here, we report how two distantly related eukaryotic lineages, dinoflagellates and charophytes, have independently incorporated DNMTs into the coding regions of distinct retrotransposon classes. Concomitantly, we show that dinoflagellates of the genus Symbiodinium have evolved cytosine methylation patterns unlike any other eukaryote, with most of the genome methylated at CG dinucleotides. Finally, we demonstrate the ability of retrotransposon DNMTs to methylate CGs de novo, suggesting that retrotransposons could self-methylate retrotranscribed DNA. Together, this is an example of how retrotransposons incorporate host-derived genes involved in DNA methylation. In some cases, this event could have implications for the composition and regulation of the host epigenomic environment.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-03724-9

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