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Extensive N4 Cytosine Methylation is Essential for Marchantia Sperm Function

View ORCID ProfileJames Walker, Jingyi Zhang, Yalin Liu, View ORCID ProfileMartin Vickers, View ORCID ProfileLiam Dolan, View ORCID ProfileKeiji Nakajima, View ORCID ProfileXiaoqi Feng
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.02.12.428880
James Walker
1Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich, NR4 7UH, UK
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Jingyi Zhang
1Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich, NR4 7UH, UK
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Yalin Liu
1Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich, NR4 7UH, UK
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Martin Vickers
1Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich, NR4 7UH, UK
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Liam Dolan
2Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, 1030 Vienna, Austria
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Keiji Nakajima
3Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Nara 630-0192, Japan
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Xiaoqi Feng
1Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich, NR4 7UH, UK
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  • For correspondence: Xiaoqi.Feng@jic.ac.uk
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Abstract

4-methylcytosine (4mC) is an important DNA modification in prokaryotes, but its relevance, and even presence in eukaryotes have been mysterious. Here we show that spermatogenesis in the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha involves two waves of extensive DNA methylation reprogramming. First, 5-methylcytosine (5mC), a well-known eukaryotic DNA modification, expands from transposons to the entire genome. Notably, the second wave installs 4mC throughout genic regions, covering over 50% of CG sites in sperm. 4mC is catalyzed by two novel methyltransferases (MpDN4MT1a and MpDN4MT1b) specifically expressed during late spermiogenesis. Deletion of MpDN4MT1s eliminates 4mC, alters the sperm transcriptome, and produces sperm with swimming defects. Our results reveal extensive 4mC in a eukaryote and define a new family of eukaryotic methyltransferases, thereby expanding the repertoire of functional eukaryotic DNA modifications.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

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The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
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Posted February 12, 2021.
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Extensive N4 Cytosine Methylation is Essential for Marchantia Sperm Function
James Walker, Jingyi Zhang, Yalin Liu, Martin Vickers, Liam Dolan, Keiji Nakajima, Xiaoqi Feng
bioRxiv 2021.02.12.428880; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.02.12.428880
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Extensive N4 Cytosine Methylation is Essential for Marchantia Sperm Function
James Walker, Jingyi Zhang, Yalin Liu, Martin Vickers, Liam Dolan, Keiji Nakajima, Xiaoqi Feng
bioRxiv 2021.02.12.428880; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.02.12.428880

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