New publication in "Communications Biology"

The murine DNMT3C DNA methyltransferase was discovered only in the year 2016. The gene appeared as a gene duplication in muroids around 60 million years ago and today DNMT3C is essential for the repression of young retroelements in the male germline. Using specialized assay systems, we discovered a DNMT3C-specific the DNA interaction that is linked to two amino acids in the catalytic domain of DNMT3C (C543 and V547). Our data show that DNMT3C has a specific adaptation of its flanking sequence preferences to young murine retrotransposons which facilitates their methylation. By this, our data provide a mechanistic insight into the molecular co-evolution between repeat elements and (epi)genetic defense systems dedicated to maintain genomic stability in mammals.