Cytosine methylation regulates oviposition in the pathogenic blood fluke Schistosoma mansoni

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dc.contributor.authorGeyer, K.
dc.contributor.authorRodriguez Lopez, C.
dc.contributor.authorChalmers, I.
dc.contributor.authorMunshi, S.
dc.contributor.authorTruscott, M.
dc.contributor.authorHeald, J.
dc.contributor.authorWilkinson, M.
dc.contributor.authorHoffmann, K.
dc.date.issued2011
dc.description.abstractSimilar to other metazoan pathogens, Schistosoma mansoni undergoes transcriptional and developmental regulation during its complex lifecycle and host interactions. DNA methylation as a mechanism to control these processes has, to date, been discounted in this parasite. Here we show the first evidence for cytosine methylation in the S. mansoni genome. Transcriptional coregulation of novel DNA methyltransferase (SmDnmt2) and methyl-CpG-binding domain proteins mirrors the detection of cytosine methylation abundance and implicates the presence of a functional DNA methylation machinery. Genome losses in cytosine methylation upon SmDnmt2 silencing and the identification of a hypermethylated, repetitive intron within a predicted forkhead gene confirm this assertion. Importantly, disruption of egg production and egg maturation by 5-azacytidine establishes an essential role for 5-methylcytosine in this parasite. These findings provide the first functional confirmation for this epigenetic modification in any worm species and link the cytosine methylation machinery to platyhelminth oviposition processes.
dc.description.statementofresponsibilityKathrin K. Geyer, Carlos M. Rodríguez López, Iain W. Chalmers, Sabrina E. Munshi, Martha Truscott, James Heald, Mike J. Wilkinson and Karl F. Hoffmann
dc.identifier.citationNature Communications, 2011; 2(article 424):1-10
dc.identifier.doi10.1038/ncomms1433
dc.identifier.issn2041-1723
dc.identifier.issn2041-1723
dc.identifier.orcidRodriguez Lopez, C. [0000-0002-9704-9788]
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2440/74249
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherNature Publishing Group
dc.rights© 2011 Nature Publishing Group, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited. All Rights Reserved.
dc.source.urihttps://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms1433
dc.subjectAnimals
dc.subjectMice, Inbred C57BL
dc.subjectHumans
dc.subjectMice
dc.subjectSchistosoma mansoni
dc.subjectSchistosomiasis mansoni
dc.subjectCytosine
dc.subjectHelminth Proteins
dc.subjectVirulence
dc.subjectDNA Methylation
dc.subjectOviposition
dc.subjectFemale
dc.titleCytosine methylation regulates oviposition in the pathogenic blood fluke Schistosoma mansoni
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.publication-statusPublished

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