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Development

DNA methylation in Drosophila melanogaster

Nature volume 408, pages 538–540 (2000)Cite this article

Abstract

Certain cytosine residues of eukaryotic DNA are methylated in inactive regions of the genome. For a long time the fruitfly Drosophila was thought to be an exception1,2,3,4, but now the evidence points to the existence of a functional DNA-methylation system in Drosophila as well5,6,7,9. Here we show that DNA is methylated, but that Drosophila genomic methylation is restricted to the early stages of embryonic development.

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Figure 1: Methylation analysis of Drosophila genomic DNA from wild-type (Oregon R) flies.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, 02142, Massachusetts, USA

    Frank Lyko & Rudolf Jaenisch

  2. Department of Oncology, John Hughes Bennett Laboratory, University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK

    Bernard H. Ramsahoye

  3. Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, 02139, Massachusetts, USA

    Rudolf Jaenisch

Authors
  1. Frank Lyko
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  2. Bernard H. Ramsahoye
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  3. Rudolf Jaenisch
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Correspondence to Rudolf Jaenisch.

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Lyko, F., Ramsahoye, B. & Jaenisch, R. DNA methylation in Drosophila melanogaster . Nature 408, 538–540 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35046205

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