| description |
Specification and propagation of the centromeres of eukaryotic chromosomes is determined by epigenetic mechanisms. Unfortunately, the epigenetic characteristics of centromeric DNA and chromatin are difficult to define because the centromeres are composed of highly repetitive DNA sequences in most eukaryotic species. Several rice centromeres have been fully sequenced, making rice an excellent model for centromere research. We conducted genome-wide mapping of cytosine methylation using methylcytosine immunoprecipitation combined with Illumina sequencing. The DNA sequences in the core domains of rice Cen4, Cen5, and Cen8 showed elevated methylation levels compared to the sequences in the pericentromeric regions. In addition, elevated methylation levels were associated with the DNA sequences in the CENH3-binding subdomains compared to the sequences in the flanking H3 subdomains. In contrast, the centromeric domain of Cen11, which is composed exclusively of centromeric satellite DNA, is hypomethylated compared to the pericentromeric domains. Thus, the DNA sequences associated with functional centromeres can be either hypomethylated or hypermethylated. The methylation patterns of centromeric DNA appear to be correlated with the composition of the associated DNA sequences. We propose that both hypomethylation and hypermethylation of CENH3-associated DNA sequences can serve as epigenetic marks to distinguish where CENH3 deposition will occur within the surrounding H3 chromatin.Overall design: mCIP-seq of one sample of rice seedling |