Selection and Characterization of Mutants Defective in DNA Methylation in .

DNA methylation, a prototypical epigenetic modification implicated in gene silencing, occurs in many eukaryotes and plays a significant role in the etiology of diseases such as cancer. The filamentous fungus places DNA methylation at regions of constitutive heterochromatin such as in centromeres and in other A:T-rich regions of the genome, but this modification is dispensable for normal growth and development. This and other features render an excellent model to genetically dissect elements of the DNA methylation pathway.