Abstract
BackgroundDNA methylation is an important epigenetic modification critical to the regulation of gene expression during development. To date, little is known about the role of DNA methylation in tooth development in large animal models. Thus, we carried out a comparative genomic analysis of genome-wide DNA methylation profiles in E50 and E60 tooth germ from miniature pigs using methylated DNA immunoprecipitation-sequencing (MeDIP-seq).ResultsWe observed different DNA methylation patterns during the different developmental stages of pig tooth germ. A total of 2469 differentially methylated genes were identified. Functional analysis identified several signaling pathways and 104 genes that may be potential key regulators of pig tooth development from E50 to E60.ConclusionsThe present study provided a comprehensive analysis of the global DNA methylation pattern of tooth germ in miniature pigs and identified candidate genes that potentially regulate tooth development from E50 to E60.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-016-2485-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
DNA methylation is an important epigenetic modification critical to the regulation of gene expression during development
Our results identified differential gene expression patterns in different developmental stages and a spatio-temporal pattern of down-regulation during tooth development [8], suggesting that tooth formation is the result of tight control by a sequence of molecular networks that act at particular places and times
Global mapping of DNA methylation in the tooth germ of miniature pigs We mapped the global DNA methylation status of tooth germ collected from embryonic day 50 (E50) and E60 miniature pig embryos
Summary
DNA methylation is an important epigenetic modification critical to the regulation of gene expression during development. DNA methylation is one of the best-studied epigenetic modifications and regulates a variety of processes, including embryonic development, cellular differentiation, tissue-specific gene expression, genomic imprinting, X chromosome in activation, and chromosome stability. Unmethylated CGIs in the promoter regions are normally associated with gene expression, whereas methylated CGIs usually result in gene silencing [13, 19]. DNA methylation has been widely accepted as a key mechanism of transcriptional regulation and a critical factor in the development of various organs [20,21,22,23], little is known about the normal developmental changes in DNA methylation during odontogenesis
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