Category Archives: Methylation

Here’s another great advance in methylome sequencing. You all know about bisulfite sequencing, the “gold standard” method. Unfortunately it’s expensive.  It also requires a lot of sample, due to DNA degradation. There are enrichment methods, like MeDIP-seq, that are relatively cheap. However, there is the drawback of CpG density bias. Excitingly, there is a new enzyme based enrichment method, called TamC-Seq that requires less sample, less money, and provides excellent coverage for genome-wide profiling. The devlopers are from the He group, University of Chicago. The paper is Liang Zhang et al. Tet-mediated covlent labelling of 5-methylctosine for its genome-wide detection and sequencing. (2013) Nature Communications, (4) 1517 So how does it work? Their protocol uses mouse Tet (Ten-eleven translocation)-1, (or … Continue reading

Posted in Applications, DNA Methylation, Genomewide Methylation Profiling, Glycosylases, Hydroxymethylation, Methylation, New Lab Methods, Next Gen Sequencing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Hello E3 scientists! Here are three etiquette tips for the modern virus. This week’s post is a bit of “tongue in cheek”, while pointing out some neat virology & epigenetics research!!!

Posted in Acetylation, Bioinformatics, Cellular Biology, Chromatin Structure, DNA Methylation, Genomewide Methylation Profiling, Immunology, Methylation, Oncogenes, Virology, chIP | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Here’s an epigenetics first. It turns out that intermolecular signaling in epigenetics — all that ubiquination, methylation, and so forth — doesn’t always end at DNA or histones, where those two components go on just to regulate genes (or to encourage more modification of themselves and each other). Nope, John Latham and colleagues at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center reported in Cell last week that there’s at least one case — in yeast — in which a modified histone allows a non-histone protein to methylate another non-histone protein. That is, the signal travels from the Paf1 complex, to histone H2BK123 by ubiquination, to the COMPASS complex — which needs that ubiquination to di-methylate Dam1. (It’s far more … Continue reading

Posted in Applications, Chromatin Structure, DNA Methylation, Gene Regulation, Histone Modifications, Methylation, Methyltransferases, Phosphorylation, Ubiquitination | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The trace back investigation in europe appears to have determined the source of the outbreak of the hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic uremic syndrome causing E.coli strain (0104:H4). Organic bean sprouts are the culprit and the farm field has been identified. This Reuters report makes an interesting point about organic farming.  Regardless, identifying the source is a critical step in stopping an outbreak. For long term planning, we need science that establishes how a pathogenic E. coli strain like this evolves.  That way, chinks in the armor can be identified. Epigenetics has a role to play in the evolution of bacterial virulence factors. It allows the bacteria to respond to various environments faster than by the process of genetic mutations alone. … Continue reading

Posted in Evolutionary Epigenetics, Gene Silencing, Methylation, Microbial Epigenetics | Tagged | Leave a comment

Tianhe-1A at the National Supercomputer center in Tianjin, China, is currently the world’s fastest supercomputer. Tianhe means “Milky Way” in English…or the river in the sky. It strikes me as a lovely, but ironic name. Although, I suppose this “river of stars” is moving fast, in the context of the universe. That Milky Way idea coincidentally reminded me of how Epigenetics is being aided by rapid technique developments. Epigeneticists are calling for cheaper sequencing methods, paired with standardised data analysis methods. At the bench, you must carefully plan for the optimal utility of your currently available methods. However, it’s also important to your lab practice, to keep updated in this fast paced field. A major goal of the Epiexperts networking … Continue reading

Posted in Animal Models, DNA Methylation, Enzymology, Genomewide Methylation Profiling, History & Trends, Methylation, Neuroscience, Next Gen Sequencing | Leave a comment