The Enigmatic Role of DNA Methylation in Invertebrates

Dear Colleagues,

Invertebrates are the largest and most heterogeneous group of animals on the planet. Their actions are shaping the biosphere and impact human health and well-being. Arthropods and mollusks not only have an indirect impact on agronomy as, e.g., pollinators or pests, but also are increasingly used as a source of animal proteins. The evolutionary success of invertebrates is related to their high phenotypic plasticity. It is now recognized that epigenetics, i.e., mitotically and/or meiotically heritable changes in gene function that cannot be explained by changes in DNA sequence, is one of the major contributors to phenotypic plasticity.

The nucleotide 5-methyl-cytosine (5mC) is a major bearer of epigenetic information. The understanding of its function is largely limited to model organisms of mammals and flowering plants, where the admitted paradigm is that promoter DNA methylation contributes to heterochromatization. In contrast, invertebrates exclusively display gene body DNA methylation, whose function remains incompletely understood. Many invertebrate methylomes are of the mosaic type, with methylated and unmethylated DNA organized in large, interspaced blocks. This type of methylation is found in very distant phylogenetic clades, indicating convergent evolution under a functional constraint. Also, DNA methylation “writers” and “erasers” in invertebrates are almost identical to the ones in vertebrates; however, in invertebrates, high methylation is often associated with transcription. The “readers” that convey DNA methylation information into chromatin structure are probably different in invertebrates compared to vertebrates.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to provide new insights into the specific role(s) of DNA methylation in invertebrates and provide a new refreshing perspective on its importance.

Prof. Dr. Christoph Grunau
Guest Editor

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