Having a clear understanding of how H3K9 methylation affects gene mutation rates is crucial. However, some researchers have used incorrect research designs while studying this phenomenon. Specifically, they have relied on data from two genes located in different chromatin regions across the chromosome [26] [27], as shown in Fig. 1, or other methods. It is, therefore, necessary to correct this approach and use a more precise experimental plan to drive our research forward. In addition, it is vital to focus our attention on investigating H3K9me solely and its impact on the mutation rate of the same gene, as it significantly affects tumorigenesis.
Here, we present our innovative and cutting-edge approach, combining multiple successful factors and critical achievements. We introduced the tetracycline-activatable system, allowing researchers to alternate a single gene's activation and silencing in one experiment, as illustrated in Fig. 2A. This experimental design enables the investigation of the effects of H3K9-methylated heterochromatin on the mutation rates of a gene with identical DNA sequences. Furthermore, we have provided a clear and concise step-by-step process for performing the fluctuation assay, resulting in increased accuracy and improved results, as depicted in Fig. 3. This comprehensive approach enables evolutionary biologists to advance their research with greater accuracy. Furthermore, we calculated the parameter (m), indicating the number of mutational events per culture.
Thirdly, we successfully overcame a difficult challenge: calculating the 95% confidence intervals for the parameter (m) based on MSS- Maximum Likelihood using R. By doing so, we have made it effortless for future researchers to maximize the accuracy of their research results [50].
Our results demonstrated that clones 1 and 2 exhibit a significant difference in parameter (m) irrespective of the presence or absence of H3k9me.
Based on the values of (µ), we can infer that the presence of H3k9me on the ura4+ gene increased the phenotypic mutation rates.
No study is perfect. Although qualitative research agreement exists between the calculated and observed trend of increasing the phenotypic mutation rates (µ) due to the existence of H3K9me in clones 1 and 2, semi-quantitative research has yet to be achieved. In other words, our study, though meticulous, revealed a lack of the DNA sequences of the mutant (r). So, we could not determine the mutational spectra from the phenotypic mutation rate yet. We still working on this step.
Nevertheless, our developed experimental design presents a fresh perspective and concepts to investigate multiple epigenetic modifications on the same gene mutation rate. Our findings are more likely to profoundly impact the future of drug development for H3K9me-related diseases and evolutionary biology [33]. This highlights the significance of pushing the boundaries of scientific research and the necessity for continued exploration of H3K9-methylated heterochromatin to enhance epigenetic therapy for H3K9me inhibitors [52] and life science research.
In conclusion, this study has successfully tackled two significant scientific challenges through an innovative experimental approach by introducing a developed research perspective to estimate the impact of H3K9-methylated heterochromatin on gene mutation rates using the exact isogenic clone under different experimental conditions in one experiment. This experimental approach allows scientists to accurately examine the relationship between H3K9me and mutation rates. Moreover, our study suggests that these H3K9m3 histone markers alone significantly increase the phenotypic mutation rate. By unlocking H3k9me-associated mutation secrets, this breakthrough empowers scientists to improve tumorigenesis research [38] and develop more effective tumor treatments [37] [39], which could ultimately save the lives of millions of people worldwide.