Dangerous R loops form in the absence of H3K9 methylation

Nature Genetics 48, 1299 (2016). doi:10.1038/ng.3705 Author: Anna Elisabetta Salcini Methylation of histone H3 on lysine 9 (H3K9) is a hallmark of transcriptionally inactive heterochromatin that is deregulated in pathological conditions. A new study shows that complete loss of H3K9 methylation in Caenorhabditis elegans leads to derepression of repetitive elements and formation of DNA:RNA hybrids (R loops), resulting in increased rates of repeat-specific mutation.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/ng/rss/current/~3/IVao6Qw8q5k/ng.3705

Source: Nature Genetics - October 26, 2016 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Anna Elisabetta Salcini Tags: News and Views Source Type: research

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