Menu
April 21, 2020  |  

DNA methylation analysis.

DNA methylation is a process by which methyl groups are added to cytosine or adenine. DNA methylation can change the activity of the DNA molecule without changing the sequence. Methylation of 5-methylcytosine (5mC) is widespread in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes, and it is a very important epigenetic modification event, which can regulate gene activity and influence a number of key processes such as genomic imprinting, cell differentiation, transcriptional regulation, and chromatin remodeling. Profiling DNA methylation across the genome is critical to understanding the influence of methylation in normal biology and diseases including cancer. Recent discoveries of 5-methylcytosine (5mC) oxidation derivatives including 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), 5-formylcytsine (5fC), and 5-carboxycytosine (5caC) in mammalian genome further expand our understanding of the methylation regulation. Genome-wide analyses such as microarrays and next-generation sequencing technologies have been used to assess large fractions of the methylome. A number of different quantitative approaches have also been established to map the DNA epigenomes with single-base resolution, as represented by the bisulfite-based methods, such as classical bisulfite sequencing, pyrosequencing etc. These methods have been used to generate base-resolution maps of 5mC and its oxidation derivatives in genomic samples. The focus of this chapter is to provide the methodologies that have been developed to detect the cytosine derivatives in the genomic DNA.


April 21, 2020  |  

Deciphering bacterial epigenomes using modern sequencing technologies.

Prokaryotic DNA contains three types of methylation: N6-methyladenine, N4-methylcytosine and 5-methylcytosine. The lack of tools to analyse the frequency and distribution of methylated residues in bacterial genomes has prevented a full understanding of their functions. Now, advances in DNA sequencing technology, including single-molecule, real-time sequencing and nanopore-based sequencing, have provided new opportunities for systematic detection of all three forms of methylated DNA at a genome-wide scale and offer unprecedented opportunities for achieving a more complete understanding of bacterial epigenomes. Indeed, as the number of mapped bacterial methylomes approaches 2,000, increasing evidence supports roles for methylation in regulation of gene expression, virulence and pathogen-host interactions.


April 21, 2020  |  

Long-read sequencing identifies GGC repeat expansions in NOTCH2NLC associated with neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease.

Neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease (NIID) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that is characterized by eosinophilic hyaline intranuclear inclusions in neuronal and somatic cells. The wide range of clinical manifestations in NIID makes ante-mortem diagnosis difficult1-8, but skin biopsy enables its ante-mortem diagnosis9-12. The average onset age is 59.7 years among approximately 140 NIID cases consisting of mostly sporadic and several familial cases. By linkage mapping of a large NIID family with several affected members (Family 1), we identified a 58.1 Mb linked region at 1p22.1-q21.3 with a maximum logarithm of the odds score of 4.21. By long-read sequencing, we identified a GGC repeat expansion in the 5′ region of NOTCH2NLC (Notch 2 N-terminal like C) in all affected family members. Furthermore, we found similar expansions in 8 unrelated families with NIID and 40 sporadic NIID cases. We observed abnormal anti-sense transcripts in fibroblasts specifically from patients but not unaffected individuals. This work shows that repeat expansion in human-specific NOTCH2NLC, a gene that evolved by segmental duplication, causes a human disease.


April 21, 2020  |  

The complete genome sequence of Ethanoligenens harbinense reveals the metabolic pathway of acetate-ethanol fermentation: A novel understanding of the principles of anaerobic biotechnology.

Ethanol-type fermentation is one of three main fermentation types in the acidogenesis of anaerobic treatment systems. Non-spore-forming Ethanoligenens is as a typical genus capable of ethanol-type fermentation in mixed culture (i.e. acetate-ethanol fermentation). This genus can produce ethanol, acetate, CO2, and H2 using carbohydrates, and has application potential in anaerobic bioprocesses. Here, the complete genome sequences and methylome of Ethanoligenens harbinense strains with different autoaggregative and coaggregative abilities were obtained using the PacBio single-molecule real-time sequencing platform. The genome size of E. harbinense strains was about 2.97-3.10?Mb with 55.5% G+C content. 3020-3153 genes were annotated, most of which were methylated at specific sites or motifs. The methylation types included 6mA, 4mC, and unknown types. Comparative genomic analysis demonstrated low levels of genetic similarity between E. harbinense and other well-known hydrogen-producing bacteria (i.e., Clostridium and Thermoanaerobacter) in phylogenesis. Hydrogen production of E. harbinense was catalyzed by genes that encode [FeFe]-hydrogenases and that were synthesized by three maturases of [FeFe]-H2ase. The metabolic mechanism of H2-ethanol co-production fermentation, catalyzed by pyruvate ferredoxin oxidoreductase was proposed. This study provides genetic and evolutionary information of a model genus for the further investigation of the metabolic pathway and regulatory network of ethanol-type fermentation and anaerobic bioprocesses for waste or wastewater treatment.Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Ltd.


Talk with an expert

If you have a question, need to check the status of an order, or are interested in purchasing an instrument, we're here to help.