CpG site

Not to be confused with CpG oligodeoxynucleotide.
a CpG site, i.e., the " 5'—C—phosphate—G—3' " sequence of nucleotides, is indicated on one DNA strand (in yellow). On the reverse DNA strand (in blue), the complementary 5'—CpG—3' site is shown. A C-G base-pairing between the two DNA strands is also indicated (right)

The CpG sites or CG sites are regions of DNA where a cytosine nucleotide is followed by a guanine nucleotide in the linear sequence of bases along its 5' → 3' direction. CpG sites occur with high frequency in genomic regions called CpG islands.

Cytosines in CpG dinucleotides can be methylated to form 5-methylcytosines. Enzymes that add a methyl group are called DNA methyltransferases. In mammals, 70% to 80% of CpG cytosines are methylated.[1] Methylating the cytosine within a gene can change its expression, a mechanism that is part of a larger field of science studying gene regulation that is called epigenetics. Methylated cytosines often mutate to thymines.

In humans, about 70% of promoters located near the transcription start site of a gene (proximal promoters) contain a CpG island.[2][3]

  1. ^ Jabbari K, Bernardi G (May 2004). "Cytosine methylation and CpG, TpG (CpA) and TpA frequencies". Gene. 333: 143–9. doi:10.1016/j.gene.2004.02.043. PMID 15177689.
  2. ^ Saxonov S, Berg P, Brutlag DL (2006). "A genome-wide analysis of CpG dinucleotides in the human genome distinguishes two distinct classes of promoters". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 103 (5): 1412–7. Bibcode:2006PNAS..103.1412S. doi:10.1073/pnas.0510310103. PMC 1345710. PMID 16432200.
  3. ^ Deaton AM, Bird A (2011). "CpG islands and the regulation of transcription". Genes Dev. 25 (10): 1010–22. doi:10.1101/gad.2037511. PMC 3093116. PMID 21576262.