methylation
Sign in to saveMethylation, in the chemical sciences, is the addition of a methyl group on a substrate, or the substitution of an atom (or group) by a methyl group. Methylation is a form of alkylation, with a methyl group replacing a hydrogen atom. These terms are commonly used in chemistry, biochemistry, soil science, and biology.
Article
21 sectionsContents
- In biology
- Methanogenesis
- ''O''-methyltransferases
- Proteins
- Methionine synthase
- Heavy metals: arsenic, mercury, cadmium
- Epigenetic methylation
- DNA methylation
- RNA methylation
- Protein methylation
- Evolution
- In chemistry
- Electrophilic methylation
- Eschweiler–Clarke methylation
- Diazomethane and trimethylsilyldiazomethane
- Nucleophilic methylation
- See also
- Biology topics
- Organic chemistry topics
- References
- External links
Methylation, in the chemical sciences, is the addition of a methyl group on a substrate, or the substitution of an atom (or group) by a methyl group. Methylation is a form of alkylation, with a methyl group replacing a hydrogen atom. These terms are commonly used in chemistry, biochemistry, soil science, and biology.
In biological systems, methylation is catalyzed by enzymes; such methylation can be involved in modification of heavy metals, regulation of gene expression, regulation of protein function, and RNA processing. In vitro methylation of tissue samples is also a way to reduce some histological staining artifacts. The reverse of methylation is demethylation.