The essential role of Dnmt1 in gametogenesis in the large milkweed bug Oncopeltus fasciatus
Washington JT, Cavender KR, Amukamara AU and others. eLife, April 2021.
Read the paper Free to read · doi:10.7554/elife.62202
What this paper is about
DNA methylation does different things in different insects, and its role is unclear. The authors knocked down the maintenance methyltransferase DNMT1 in the large milkweed bug.
The bugs became infertile, with meiosis disrupted, while their body cells were unaffected. The enzyme is needed to turn germ cells into gametes rather than for general gene regulation.
Summarised here from the abstract below. Not the authors’ words.
Abstract
Given the importance of DNA methylation in protection of the genome against transposable elements and transcriptional regulation in other taxonomic groups, the diversity in both levels and patterns of DNA methylation in the insects raises questions about its function and evolution. We show that the maintenance DNA methyltransferase, DNMT1, affects meiosis and is essential to fertility in milkweed bugs, Oncopeltus fasciatus, while DNA methylation is not required in somatic cells. Our results support the hypothesis that Dnmt1 is required for the transition of germ cells to gametes in O. fasciatus and that this function is conserved in male and female gametogenesis. They further suggest that DNMT1 has a function independent of DNA methylation in germ cells. Our results raise thequestion as to how a gene that is so critical to fitness across multiple insect species is able to diverge widely across the insect tree of life.
Abstract reproduced from the published paper, which is licensed CC BY. Copyright remains with the authors.
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title = {The essential role of Dnmt1 in gametogenesis in the large milkweed bug Oncopeltus fasciatus (listing)},
author = {{Milkweed USA}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://milkweedusa.com/research/the-essential-role-of-dnmt1-in-gametogenesis-in-the-2021/},
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