DNA Methylation in hypoxia in Mycobacterium tuberculosis

TL;DR

This paper reviews the role of DNA methylation in Mycobacterium tuberculosis's response to hypoxia, highlighting its potential influence on gene regulation during dormancy and stress adaptation.

Contribution

It presents a meta-analysis linking hypoxia gene expression with methylation profiles across MTB genomes, suggesting methylation may regulate gene expression in hypoxic conditions.

Findings

Methylation sites in promoter regions may influence gene regulation during hypoxia

Meta-analysis indicates potential methylation-driven gene regulation in MTB

More data needed for conclusive evidence

Abstract

Tuberculosis is one of the most lethal contagious diseases caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), in many cases, the infected did not show any symptoms, because the bacilli entered the dormant stage in granulomas. The dormant stage of MTB is also associated with higher resistance to drugs and the immune system. Among multiple epigenetic regulations critical to MTB stress responses, DNA methylation is necessary for the survival of MTB in hypoxic conditions, which is a common stress event during granuloma formation. This review gathers previous findings and demonstrates a meta-analysis by collecting hypoxia gene expression data from several articles and perform association analysis between those genes and methylation site profiles across whole genomes of representative strains pf lineage 2 and 4. While more data is required for more conclusive support, our results suggest that methylation sites in the possible promoter regions may induce differential gene regulation in hypoxia.