ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2020
DNA methylation enables transposable element-driven genome expansion.
Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 104 papers.
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Who cites it
104 citing papers in PubMed, 194 citations in OpenAlex.
- Machine learning reveals sequence and genomic context features underlyingbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- TLR9 DNA methylation and gene expression in cattle naturally infected with B. abortus.Tropical animal health and production · 2026Article
- The genome of a keystone predator: adaptive innovations in Charonia tritonis drive specialized predation and coral reef resilience.DNA research : an international journal for rapid publication of reports on genes and genomes · 2026Article
- Long-read sequencing maps transposable element variation and its regulatory and epigenetic effects in the human brain.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Quantitative Control of Transposable Elements: From Genome Plasticity to Immune Regulatory Circuits.Cell biochemistry and function · 2026Review
- Genomic and genetic dissection of drought tolerance in a resilient wheat germplasm JIN50.Nature genetics · 2026Article
- Non-Mendelian inheritance of DNA methylation patterns in mice.Nature genetics · 2026Article
- Characterizing cytosine methylation of polymorphic transposable element insertions using the human pangenome resources.Genome research · 2026Article
- Comparative Transcriptomics Reveals an Extracellular Worm Argonaute as an Ancestral Regulator of LTR Retrotransposons.Genome biology and evolution · 2026Article
- A tunable, ultrasensitive threshold in enzymatic activity governs the DNA methylation landscape.Biophysical journal · 2026Article
- The Future of Epigenetics: Emerging Technologies and Clinical Applications.ACS pharmacology & translational science · 2026Review
- Article
- LEMONmethyl-seq: Targeted long-read DNA methylation profiling reveals dynamics of CRISPR epigenome editing and endogenous DNA methylation patterns.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Arms races between selfish genetic elements and their host defence in termites.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Viral mimicry acts as a tumor suppressor in colitis.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Genomic and Effector-Based Insights Into Austropuccinia psidii-Host Interactions Informing RNAi and Resistance Development.Molecular plant pathology · 2026Review
- Host adaptation and genome evolution of the broad host range fungal rust pathogen, Austropuccinia psidii.G3 (Bethesda, Md.) · 2026Article
- Transposable Element Dysregulation in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Epigenetic Mechanisms, Immune Remodeling, and Translational Opportunities.Journal of hepatocellular carcinoma · 2026Review
- Diverging transposon activity among polar bear sub-populations inhabiting different climate zones.Mobile DNA · 2025Article
- Epigenetic dysregulation of transposable elements in cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease.GeroScience · 2025Article
44 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Multicellular eukaryotic genomes show enormous differences in size. A substantial part of this variation is due to the presence of transposable elements (TEs). They contribute significantly to a cell's mass of DNA and have the potential to become involved in host gene control. We argue that the suppression of their activities by methylation of the C-phosphate-G (CpG) dinucleotide in DNA is essential for their long-term accommodation in the host genome and, therefore, to its expansion. An inevitable consequence of cytosine methylation is an increase in C-to-T transition mutations via deamination, which causes CpG loss. Cytosine deamination is often needed for TEs to take on regulatory functions in the host genome. Our study of the whole-genome sequences of 53 organisms showed a positive correlation between the size of a genome and the percentage of TEs it contains, as well as a negative correlation between size and the CpG observed/expected (O/E) ratio in both TEs and the host DNA. TEs are seldom found at promoters and transcription start sites, but they are found more at enhancers, particularly after they have accumulated C-to-T and other mutations. Therefore, the methylation of TE DNA allows for genome expansion and also leads to new opportunities for gene control by TE-based regulatory sites.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.