无脊椎动物DNA甲基化研究进展

Research Progress on Invertebrates DNA Methylation

DNA甲基化是一种重要的表观遗传机制,可在不改变DNA序列的基础上改变细胞的转录物组并造成表型上的差异。在不同进化分支中,DNA甲基化状态有很大的不同,无脊椎动物DNA甲基化多发生于转录区域并与基因表达高度相关。研究表明,DNA甲基化对于社会性昆虫的等级分化具有重要影响,并且可以通过启动子识别、外显子遗漏等机制来增加转录变异体的数量,从而提高表型的灵活性,增加生物体应对环境变化的能力。对无脊椎动物DNA甲基化的机制及功能进行综述,旨在为相关研究提供参考,并对未来的研究方向作出展望。

DNA methylation is an important epigentic mechanism which can change organism＇ s transcriptome and phenotype without altering DNA sequence. In different evolutionary braches, the states of DNA methylation are fundamentally different. In invertebrates, DNA methylation usually occurs in transcription region and is closely related to genetic expression. Research shows that DNA methylation plays an important role in caste formation of social insects. It can improve the phenotypic plasticity of organism by increasing the amount of transcription variants via promoter recognition and exon skipping in highly fluctuating environments. This article reviewed the mechanism and function of DNA methylation in invertebrates to provide reference to related research and make prospects for future research.