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. 2014 Oct 22;3(4):670–723. doi: 10.3390/biology3040670

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© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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Generation of DNA methyl modifications. Cytosines are converted to 5-methylcytosine (5mC) by DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) enzymes through transfer of a methyl group from S-adenosyl methionine (SAM). Ten Eleven Translocation (TET) enzymes catalyze the oxidation of 5mC to 5-Hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) through a chemical reaction which involves alpha-ketoglutarate (αKG), Oxygen (O₂), Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and Fe²⁺. Similar reactions further oxidize 5hmC into 5-formylcytosine (5fC) and 5-carboxycytosine (5CaC).