As we all know DNA consists of four basic units - adenine, guanine, thymine, and cytosine. In a very recent issue of the journal, Science, researchers from the UNC School of Medicine have discovered a seventh and eighth base of DNA. The newly discovered bases are called 5-formylcystosine and 5 carboxylcytosine. According to Science Daily, they are versions of cytosine that have been modified by Tet proteins, molecular entities thought to play a role in DNA delethylation and stem cell reprogramming.
This new discovery could progress stem cell research that could end up reprogramming adult cells to make them act like stem cells, which could be very important for the research on cancers. Little is known about the fifth base called 5-methylcytosine and not much is talked about in the article about the sixth base, hydroxymethylC either. This new research is extremely important. It gives scientists the opportunity to reactivate tumor suppressor genes that had been silenced by DNA methylation.
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