Demethylating

Part of speech: verb, adjective

Definitions

1. Causing the removal of methyl groups from molecules; used to describe processes or agents that reduce or eliminate methylation in chemical compounds or biological contexts; pertaining to actions that reverse methyl group addition on DNA or other substances
2. Referring to the chemical or enzymatic activity that strips methyl groups from atoms or compounds; describing the intervention that alters or suppresses methyl tagging in molecular structures; related to processes reducing methylation in genetics or chemistry
3. Indicating the effect of eliminating methyl groups from molecules; involving treatment or mechanisms that undo methyl bond formation; relating to biological or chemical procedures that remove methylation marks from DNA or other organic compounds

Etymology: "Methyl" was coined from Greek "methy," meaning wine, and "hyle," meaning wood, because the group was first isolated from wood alcohol, the liquid produced by distilling timber. A name built from a word for wine describes a chemical that came from wood and contains neither. Chemists then built "methylate," meaning to add a methyl group to a molecule. The Latin prefix "de-," meaning removal or reversal, was attached to make "demethylate," and the "-ing" ending turns it into a participle that also works as an adjective, as in "demethylating agent." In molecular biology the term matters because methyl groups attached to DNA can switch genes off, and demethylating agents strip them away.

Synonyms: removing methyl groups, demethylation

Antonyms: methylating, adding methyl groups, methylation