In several host-adapted pathogens, phase variation has been found to occur in genes that
encode methyltransferases associated with type III restriction–modification systems. It was …

Infection-associated cancers account for a large proportion of human cancers, and gastric
cancer, the vast majority of which is associated with Helicobacter pylori infection, is a typical …

Altered patterns of DNA methylation associated with Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection of
gastric epithelial cells are thought to contribute to gastric cancer risk. However, it is unclear …

The genome of Helicobacter pylori is remarkable for its large number of restriction-
modification (RM) systems, and strain-specific diversity in RM systems has been suggested …

Many host-adapted bacterial pathogens contain DNA methyltransferases (mod genes) that
are subject to phase-variable expression (high-frequency reversible ON/OFF switching of …

Epigenetic alterations, including aberrant DNA methylation, play an important role in human
cancer development. Importantly, epigenetic alterations are reversible and can be targets for …

Highlights•H. pylori diversifies rapidly during early and chronic infections.•The H. pylori
genome evolves at a fast rate of 10− 5–10− 6 mutations per site/year.•Recombination …

Background The genome of the human gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori encodes a
large number of DNA methyltransferases (MTases), some of which are shared among many …

Restriction-modification (RM) systems comprise two opposing enzymatic activities: a
restriction endonuclease, that targets specific DNA sequences and performs endonucleolytic …

Methyltransferase (MTases) enzymes transfer methyl groups particularly on proteins and
nucleotides, thereby participating in controlling the epigenetic information in both …