What is DNA methylation?
Q: What is DNA methylation?
A: DNA methylation is the process of adding methyl groups to DNA to suppress gene transcription and adjust gene activity during life, especially during early development.
Q: Which nucleotides in DNA can be methylated?
A: Cytosine and adenine can be methylated, but adenine methylation is restricted to prokaryotes, so all eukaryote transcription is regulated by suppressing cytosine methylation.
Q: What is epigenetics?
A: Epigenetics is the study of changes in gene activity that are not caused by changes in the DNA sequence, but are instead caused by non-hereditary factors that suppress gene transcription through DNA methylation.
Q: What is the basis of epigenetics?
A: The basis of epigenetics is suppressing genes through DNA methylation to regulate gene transcription and change gene activity during life, especially during early development.
Q: What is the study of gene expression?
A: The study of gene expression is the study of how genes bring about their phenotypic effects, which is regulated by suppressing gene transcription through DNA methylation.
Q: How long can the changes in gene activity by methylation last?
A: The changes in gene activity by methylation can last for the rest of the cell's life, and for many generations of cells through cell divisions.
Q: Does DNA methylation change the underlying DNA sequence of the organism?
A: No, DNA methylation does not change the underlying DNA sequence of the organism, but it causes the organism's genes to behave (express themselves) differently through suppressing gene transcription.
