DNA methylation. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. 2002

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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. 2002.

DNA methylation


(METH-uh-lay-shuhn) The chemical reactions that place a methyl group (a combination of one carbon atom and three hydrogen atoms) at a particular spot on DNA during organismal development. The effect of this process is probably to “turn off” various genes during the process of cellular differentiation, causing the cell to develop into a specific type.	1
‡ It is thought that during cloning, the methyl groups are removed from the DNA, turning the genes back “on” again.	2
‡ There is evidence that embryonic stem cells are cells in which this process has not yet occurred.	3

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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