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. 2021 Apr 12;22(5):e51803. doi: 10.15252/embr.202051803

Figure 2. Various mechanisms underlying targeting of de novo DNMTs by histone methylation.

Figure 2

(A) At promoters of actively transcribing genes, high levels of H3K4me3 oppose ADD domain and the binding of DNMT3L‐DNMT3A/B to prevent de novo CpG methylation. (B) At gene bodies of actively transcribing genes, high levels of H3K36me3 interact with PWWP domain of DNMT3B and facilitate its genic localization. (C) A parallel pathway operates at the intergenic region, where H3K36me2 interacts with PWWP domain of DNMT3A and facilitates its intergenic localization. (D) At repetitive elements and retrotransposons, interactions between H3K9 methyltransferases and DNMT3A/B enable co‐localization of H3K9me3 and CpG methylation for transcriptional silencing.