Dual binding patterns of MBD proteins in mammals and in C. elegans (IMAGE)
Caption
In mammals (left), previous studies show that most MBD3 binding sites overlap with MBD2 and the Nucleosome Remodeling and Deacetylase (NuRD) complex, while MBD2 also independently occupies additional regions enriched with DNA methylation (5-methylcytosine, 5mC).
In Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) (right), which lacks DNA methylation, MBD-2 (Cel-MBD-2) displays a dual binding pattern as in mammalian MBD2, despite lacking a methyl-binding domain. The majority of Cel-MBD-2 binds to genomic regions enriched with repressive histone modifications, such as H3K27me3 and H3K9me2/3, independently of NuRD. This model illustrates how MBD-2 can be guided by different epigenetic signals when DNA methylation is absent. Image credit: Tsui, et al., 2026. Nature Communications.
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The University of Hong Kong
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