Silencing the noise with gene body methylation

Mika Nieuwenhuyzen; James P B Lloyd

doi:10.1016/j.tig.2026.04.002

Silencing the noise with gene body methylation

Trends Genet. 2026 Jun;42(6):484-485. doi: 10.1016/j.tig.2026.04.002. Epub 2026 Apr 24.

Authors

Mika Nieuwenhuyzen¹, James P B Lloyd²

Affiliations

¹ ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, School of Molecular Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
² ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, School of Molecular Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space, School of Molecular Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia. Electronic address: james.lloyd@uwa.edu.au.

PMID: 42034511
DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2026.04.002

Abstract

Gene body methylation (gbM) is a conserved plant epigenetic mark previously correlated with stable gene expression. Zastąpiło et al. now demonstrate that gbM actively suppresses interindividual transcriptional noise. Using mutants and epigenetic recombinant inbred lines, they establish a causal link between gbM and expression stability.

Publication types

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MeSH terms

Arabidopsis / genetics
DNA Methylation* / genetics
Epigenesis, Genetic*
Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
Gene Silencing*
Transcription, Genetic