Global DNA Demethylation During Mouse Erythropoiesis in Vivo

Previously, it was thought that global DNA demethylation just occurs in germ cells and the preimplantation embryo, however here, Socolovsky's lab at U Mass show that in fact, global demethylation of DNA occurs during erythropoiesis (red cell development), and that it is dependent on replication - which is contrary to the idea of active DNA demethylation that has been put forward in some models.  Read about it in today's Science magazine Shearstone et al.