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. 2014 Aug 27;4(11):2095-100.
doi: 10.1534/g3.114.012393.

No detectable effect of the DNA methyltransferase DNMT2 on Drosophila meiotic recombination

Caiti S Smukowski Heil  1
Affiliations

No detectable effect of the DNA methyltransferase DNMT2 on Drosophila meiotic recombination

Caiti S Smukowski Heil. G3 (Bethesda). .

Abstract

Epigenetics is known to be involved in recombination initiation, but the effects of specific epigenetic marks like DNA methylation on recombination are relatively unknown. Studies in Arabidopsis and the fungus Ascobolus immersus suggest that DNA methylation may suppress recombination rates and/or alter its distribution across the genome; however, these patterns appear complex, and more direct inquiries are needed. Unlike other organisms, Drosophila only have one known DNA methyltransferase, DNMT2, which is expressed in the ovaries and historically has been thought to be responsible for limited genomic DNA methylation. To test for a role of DNMT2 on the frequency and distribution of recombination, I compared recombination rates between Dnmt2 -/- and Dnmt2 +/- Drosophila melanogaster individuals in two euchromatic regions and one heterochromatic region across the genome. I failed to detect an altered pattern of recombination rate in the absence of DNMT2 in all regions surveyed, and conclude that other epigenetic effects are regulating recombination initiation in Drosophila.

Keywords: DNA methylation; DNMT2; Drosophila; epigenetics; recombination.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Crossing scheme. The crossing scheme follows the genotype of Chromosomes 2, 3, and X and consists of: (A) crossing a D. melanogaster Dnmt2 p-element excision line Dnmt299 (gray, with p-element excision denoted in red) (Schaefer et al. 2010) to wild-type D. melanogaster Zim29 (yellow) to generate variability to score recombination events. (B) F1 females were crossed to a D. melanogaster chromosome 2L deficiency line (blue, with deficiency denoted by an open circle) over a balancer (green), Df(2L)BSC826/SM6a (#27900 Bloomington Stock Center, Bloomington, IN). F2 females were collected, and females carrying the SM6a balancer were identified by the curly wing phenotype and discarded. (C) F2 females (Dnmt299/Df(2L)BSC826) were crossed to wild-type males (Zim29), and experimental recombination was surveyed in the F3 progeny. (D) F2 females (Df(2L)BSC826/Zim29) were crossed to wild-type males (Zim29) and control recombination was surveyed in the F3 progeny. Markers used to assess genotype of F2 females and to assay recombination in F3 progeny are denoted in (C) and (D) as asterisks. More information about the markers is included in Table 1.
Figure 2
Figure 2
No difference in recombination rate between Dnmt2−/− and Dnmt2+/− individuals. Recombination rates (cM/Mb) are shown for Dnmt2−/− individuals (blue column) and Dnmt2+/− individuals (red) across three intervals: 3L-3R, which spans the heterochromatic centromere of chromosome 3 (P = 0.79; Control: 1.61 cM/Mb; Experimental: 1.44 cM/Mb); X1-X2, a euchromatic region of the X chromosome with low recombination (P = 0.86; Control: 1.07 cM/Mb; Experimental: 1.11 cM/Mb); and X2-X3, a euchromatic region of the X chromosome with high recombination (P = 0.84; Control: 3.57 cM/Mb; Experimental: 3.07 cM/Mb). The error bars reflect 95% confidence intervals. There is no significant difference between experimental and control individuals for any interval surveyed.
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