August 2013 | What is Epigenetics?

dna methylation research epigenetics growing field

Research in Epigenetics Experiencing Exponential Growth

August 26, 2013 WhatIsEpigenetics

Publication growth in epigenetic-related research attests to the exponential expansion of this field since 2000 according to GENRports (GENReports: Market & Tech Analysis, Produced by Enal Razvi). The yearly published articles related to epigenetics are sharply increased from about 1000 in 2000 to more than 11,000 in 2012 (See Figure: “Growth of Epigenetics-Focused Publications in PubMed”). Around 50% of the research is focused on DNA methylation and 25% is for non-coding RNA studies, while another 25% is related to histone [more…]

Illumina Doubles Output of Benchtop Sequencer MiSeq to 15 Gb

August 26, 2013 WhatIsEpigenetics

San Diego-based Illumina, Inc. doubles the sequencing output of its benchtop sequencer MiSeq to 15 gigabases (Gb) by increasing the number of sequencing reads to up to 25 million reads and overall read length to up to 2×300 base pairs. Subsequently, researchers can perform additional new applications on the MiSeq, including exome sequencing. Transcriptome applications such as mRNA sequencing can be supported now as well. Increased paired-end read lengths also improves the quality of genome assemblies, thereby advancing applications that [more…]

Identifying Site Specific Methylation in tRNAs and Target Substrates of RNA Methyltransferase NSun2

August 26, 2013 Milka Rodriguez

Currently, DNA methylation is one of the most broadly studied and well-characterized epigenetic modifications associated with gene silencing. The biological importance of 5-mC as a major epigenetic modification in phenotype and gene expression has been widely recognized. DNA hypomethylation is likely caused by methyl-deficiency due to a variety of environmental influences and has been proposed as a molecular marker in multiple biological processes such as cancer. The quantification of 5-mC content or global methylation in diseased or environmentally impacted cells [more…]

transcription factors LITEs epigenetic mechanism

System for Optical Control of Mammalian Endogenous Transcription and Epigenetic States

August 26, 2013 WhatIsEpigenetics

Robust and versatile technologies that enable optical modulation of transcription in the mammalian endogenous genome have been difficult to achieve for a while. To solve this problem, scientists at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard developed light-inducible transcriptional effectors (LITEs) — an optogenetic two-hybrid system integrating the TALE DNA-binding domain with a light-sensitive cryptochrome 2 protein and its partner CIB1 from the Arabidopsis thaliana plant. LITEs can be customized to target many endogenous genomic loci and can be quickly [more…]

whole-genome bisulfite sequencing data cpg islands

In-Depth Analysis of 42 Whole-Genome Bisulfite Sequencing Data Carried Out by Broad Institute

August 24, 2013 WhatIsEpigenetics

Scientists from Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard report in-depth analysis of 42 whole-genome bisulfite sequencing data sets across 30 diverse human cell and tissue types. This study tries to answer when, where, and how many CpGs are involved in genomic regulation. Within a normal developmental context, the scientists observed dynamic regulation for only 21.8% of autosomal CpGs, most of which are situated away from transcription start sites. These dynamic CpGs co-localize with enhancers and transcription-factor-binding sites, allowing for identification [more…]

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