Description
In mammalian genomes, 5-mC can be enzymatically oxidized to 5-hmC (5-hydroxymethylcytosine). This modification is suggested to be an intermediate between methylation and demethylation of the genome. Occupancy of 5-hmC correlates with inactive or non-productive promoters (PMID: 21925312). 5-hmC pattern is different from 5-methylcytosine (5-mC) in many instances(PMID: 21610077).