We establish that adenine DNA methylation is widespread among unicellular eukaryotes, in which it marks transcriptionally active genes. This conserved pattern depends on the AMT1 enzyme, an ancestral eukaryotic adenine methyltransferase that has been recurrently lost in multicellular lineages, such as animals and plants.
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References
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This is a summary of: Romero Charria, P. et al. Adenine DNA methylation associated with transcriptionally permissive chromatin is widespread across eukaryotes. Nat. Genet. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-025-02409-6 (2025).
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Adenine DNA methylation is an ancestral and widespread mark in eukaryotes. Nat Genet 57, 2960–2961 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-025-02422-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-025-02422-9
