Cathia Rausch

TL;DR: The impact of DNA modifications on the DNA helix is focused on and the writers and readers of cytosine modifications are reviewed to shape genome composition, stability and function.

TL;DR: It is shown that binding of Mecp2 and Mbd2 to DNA protects 5-methylcytosine from Tet1-mediated oxidation, and suggests that Mec p2 and mbd2 have an essential physiological role as guardians of the epigenome.

TL;DR: It is found that the recruitment of Tet1 and concomitantly its catalytic activity eventually leads to the displacement of Mbd1 from methylated DNA, and it is demonstrated that increased Tet1 heterochromatin localization and 5-methylcytosine oxidation are dependent on the CXXC3 domain of MBD1, which recognizes unmethylated CpG dinucleotides.

TL;DR: It is demonstrated that the methyl-CpG binding domain, as well as the adjacent non-sequence specific DNA binding domain of Mecp2 are each sufficient to mediate repression of Tet1-induced L1 mobilization.

TL;DR: It is concluded that the histone modifications in the specific repeat element predominantly determine its replication and repair timing, and Alu elements, which is characterized by euchromatic chromatin features, are repaired and replicated the earliest, followed by LINE-1 elements, including more variegated eu/heterochromatic features and, lastly, satellite tandem repeats, which are homogeneously characterized by heterochromatics features and extend over megabase-long genomic regions.