A vitamin-C-derived DNA modification catalysed by an algal TET homologue

Methylation of cytosine to 5-methylcytosine (5mC) is a prevalent DNA modification found in many organisms. Sequential oxidation of 5mC by ten-eleven translocation (TET) dioxygenases results in a cascade of additional epigenetic marks and promotes demethylation of DNA in mammals^1,2. However, the enzymatic activity and function of TET homologues in other eukaryotes remains largely unexplored. Here we show that the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii contains a 5mC-modifying enzyme (CMD1) that is a TET homologue and catalyses the conjugation of a glyceryl moiety to the methyl group of 5mC through a carbon–carbon bond, resulting in two stereoisomeric nucleobase products. The catalytic activity of CMD1 requires Fe(ii) and the integrity of its binding motif His-X-Asp, which is conserved in Fe-dependent dioxygenases³. However, unlike previously described TET enzymes, which use 2-oxoglutarate as a co-substrate⁴, CMD1 uses l-ascorbic acid (vitamin C) as an essential co-substrate. Vitamin C donates the glyceryl moiety to 5mC with concurrent formation of glyoxylic acid and CO₂. The vitamin-C-derived DNA modification is present in the genome of wild-type C. reinhardtii but at a substantially lower level in a CMD1 mutant strain. The fitness of CMD1 mutant cells during exposure to high light levels is reduced. LHCSR3, a gene that is critical for the protection of C. reinhardtii from photo-oxidative damage under high light conditions, is hypermethylated and downregulated in CMD1 mutant cells compared to wild-type cells, causing a reduced capacity for photoprotective non-photochemical quenching. Our study thus identifies a eukaryotic DNA base modification that is catalysed by a divergent TET homologue and unexpectedly derived from vitamin C, and describes its role as a potential epigenetic mark that may counteract DNA methylation in the regulation of photosynthesis. © 2019, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.