Gene body DNA methylation conspires with H3K36me3 to preclude aberrant transcription

DNA methylation of promoters is well known for its repressive effect on transcription initiation of protein‐coding genes, non‐coding RNAs, or transposon repeats. However, gene bodies represent the most conserved targets of DNA methylation among eukaryotes, and yet the function of intragenic methylation remains unclear. Recent research (Neri et al, 2017) suggests that intragenic methylation may serve to confine transcription initiation to canonical promoters in embryonic stem cells, thus preventing the production of aberrant transcripts.