structural:scholar_edition
Repression of transposable elements

DNA methylation is a powerful transcriptional repressor, at least in CpG dense contexts. Transcriptional repression of protein-coding genes appears essentially limited to very specific classes of genes that need to be silent permanently and in almost all tissues. While DNA methylation does not have the flexibility required for the fine-tuning of gene regulation, its stability is perfect to ensure the permanent silencing of transposable elements. Transposon control is one of the most ancient functions of DNA methylation that is shared by animals, plants and multiple protists. It is even suggested that DNA methylation evolved precisely for this purpose.