H2A.Z and DNA methylation: irreconcilable differences

DNA methylation state and the composition of the nucleosome core particle influence chromatin structure and, in turn, transcriptional competence. Although it is clear that chromatin remodeling and covalent histone modifications regulate DNA methylation in plants and animals, the role of histone variants in directing DNA methylation, and vice versa, has not been addressed. A new genome-wide study in Arabidopsis thaliana reveals a broadly antagonistic relationship between H2A.Z occupancy and DNA methylation.