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. 1982 Jul;2(7):758–762. doi: 10.1128/mcb.2.7.758

Topographical distribution of 5-methylcytosine in animal and plant DNA.

T Naveh-Many, H Cedar
PMCID: PMC369857  PMID: 6927792

Abstract

The topographical distribution of 5-methylcytosine on animal and plant cell DNA has been examined with methyl-sensitive restriction enzymes and gel electrophoresis analysis. These DNAs digested with the enzyme HpaII have a partially bimodal size distribution, indicating the existence of clusters of methylated and unmethylated CCGG sites in the DNA. By analyzing the methylation state of all CG moieties in restricted DNA fractions, it was possible to show that these genomes are, in general, arranged as clusters of relatively highly methylated and undermethylated regions. Plant DNA also contains 5-methylcytosine in the prototype sequence C-X-G. Restriction of this DNA with EcoRII revealed that these methyl groups are also distributed in clusters, suggesting that this is a general phenomenon. The undermethylated areas may correspond to the active fraction of the genome.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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