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Biomedical Basics

DNA methylation and gene silencing

  • Created by Henry Stewart Talks
Published on December 31, 2025   4 min

A selection of talks on Haematology

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Welcome to this lecture on DNA methylation and gene silencing providing an overview of DNA methylation, its chemical basis and its role as a key epigenetic mark controlling gene silencing without altering DNA sequence. We will examine how methylation patterns are established, maintained and read by specialized proteins. Influencing chromatin structure and gene expression, the discussion will include the developmental dynamics of methylation, its role in disease and how environmental factors modulate these patterns. Finally, we'll consider the implications of DNA methylation in medicine and agriculture, highlighting its importance in shaping health, disease and inheritance. We'll explore DNA methylation and its key role in gene silencing. DNA methylation occurs when a methyl group is added to the fifth carbon of the cytosine ring mainly at CPG dinucleotides in mammals. This is the most common epigenetic mark in eukaryotic genomes and alters gene expression without changing the DNA sequence. DNA methylation serves as molecular memory crucial for development cell differentiation and silencing genes across divisions and generations. Let's take a closer look at DNA methylation in the genome. DNA methylation usually occurs on cytosines followed by guanine or CPG sites. This process is catalyzed by DNA methyl transferases or DNMTs. In mammals, DNMT1 maintains methylation patterns during DNA replication while

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