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Enzyme erases DNA's molecular coating
A newly discovered enzyme strips DNA of clusters of atoms called methyl groups—a function implicated in the regulation of gene activity.
References:
Bhattacharya, S.K. . . . M. Szyf. 1999. A mammalian protein with specific demethylase activity for mCpG DNA. Nature 397(Feb. 18):579.
Further Readings:
Fackelmann, K.A. 1994. Reverse logic. Science News 146(Aug. 6):88.
Sources:
Timothy H. Bestor
Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center
Genetics and Development Department
HHSC 1424
701 W 168 ST
New York, NY 10032
Moshe Szyf
McGill University
Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics
3655 Drummond Street
Montreal QC H3G 1Y6
Canada
From Science News, Vol. 155, No. 8, February 20, 1999, p. 116. Copyright © 1999, Science Service.
