Evolutionary insights into DNA methylation in insects

• DNA methylation is an important epigenetic mark affecting gene function.
• Different insect species show great variation in levels of DNA methylation.
• DNA methylation in insects is largely confined to exons and introns.
• Methylated genes in insects are broadly expressed and evolutionarily conserved.
• DNA methylation in insects may affect transcript splicing and histone occupancy.

Epigenetic information affects gene function and plays a critical role in development. DNA methylation is one of the most widespread epigenetic marks and has been linked to developmental plasticity in insects. Here, we review the patterns and functions of DNA methylation in insects. We specifically focus on how the application of an evolutionary framework has led to important insights into the role of DNA methylation. We discuss the importance of evolutionary variation in DNA methylation among insect taxa and show how comparative analyses have revealed conservation in targets of DNA methylation. We then show how the distribution of DNA methylation in insect genomes has been linked to evolutionary conserved patterns of histone modifications and variants. We conclude by discussing how the evolutionary conservation and variability of DNA methylation in insects can provide insight into the function of DNA methylation across eukaryotic systems.

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