Reduced levels of two modifiers of epigenetic gene silencing, Dnmt3a and Trim28, cause increased phenotypic noise

Nadia C. Whitelaw, Suyinn Chong, Daniel K. Morgan, Colm Nestor, Timothy J. Bruxner, Alyson Ashe, Eleanore Lambley, Richard Meehan, Emma Whitelaw

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Background: Inbred individuals reared in controlled environments display considerable variance in many complex traits but the underlying cause of this intangible variation has been an enigma. Here we show that two modifiers of epigenetic gene silencing play a critical role in the process.

Results: Inbred mice heterozygous for a null mutation in DNA methyltransferase 3a (Dnmt3a) or tripartite motif protein 28 (Trim28) show greater coefficients of variance in body weight than their wild-type littermates. Trim28 mutants additionally develop metabolic syndrome and abnormal behavior with incomplete penetrance. Genome-wide gene expression analyses identified 284 significantly dysregulated genes in Trim28 heterozygote mutants compared to wild-type mice, with Mas1, which encodes a G-protein coupled receptor implicated in lipid metabolism, showing the greatest average change in expression (7.8-fold higher in mutants). This gene also showed highly variable expression between mutant individuals.

Conclusions: These studies provide a molecular explanation of developmental noise in whole organisms and suggest that faithful epigenetic control of transcription is central to suppressing deleterious levels of phenotypic variation. These findings have broad implications for understanding the mechanisms underlying sporadic and complex disease in humans.

Original languageEnglish
Article numberR111
Pages (from-to)-
Number of pages10
JournalGenome Biology
Volume11
Issue number11
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2010

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Reduced levels of two modifiers of epigenetic gene silencing, Dnmt3a and Trim28, cause increased phenotypic noise'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this