Where methylation matters
Click the regions to methylate them. The effect depends on the location.
“The goal is not to methylate everything. The goal is to regulate the right genes, in the right tissues, at the right time, at the right intensity.”
Promoterunmethylated
Methylation → gene SILENCED
Methylation in promoter CpG islands blocks transcription factor binding and represses gene expression. This is how protective genes get switched off when methylation goes wrong.
Gene bodyunmethylated
Methylation → expression OFTEN INCREASED
Counter-intuitively, methylation inside the gene body usually correlates with active transcription. It helps suppress spurious internal promoters and stabilize elongation.
Enhancerunmethylated
Methylation → enhancer DEACTIVATED
Enhancers loop to promoters to boost transcription. Methylating an enhancer breaks that loop and lowers the gene's output even when the promoter itself is unmethylated.