Genome-wide DNA methylation sequencing hasn’t been much more than sci-fi reading for most labs. Sure there’ve been some great papers with really slick technologies, but many researchers just don’t have access to them.
In many cases, no single lab can handle the complete experimental workflow from sample prep to data management/analysis, requiring collaborations with other groups. Moreover, only some of the world’s most funded labs or those with a major DNA methylation focus have been able to afford to tinker, optimize, and sequence to the depth that can yield solid results for DNAm studies.
New developments are changing that though, and DNA methylation sequencing is now being brought to the masses. The bisulfite gurus at Zymo Research have launched a new genome-wide DNA methylation sequencing service that’ll crank out DNA methylation profiles, all while you kick back on your sofa.
The EpiQuest™ Genome-Wide DNA Methylation service leverages some of the work made famous by Alex Meissner’s Reduced Representation Bisulfite Sequencing (RRBS) publications and adds a healthy dose of enhancements that will put your methylation studies in overdrive. Check out some of the optimization highlights:
No Need for Quiet in this Library
Creating sequencing libraries has typically been a tedious 7-9 day process with enough purification and isolation steps to burn through both your samples and your sanity. However, Zymo developed a solid, more simplified approach for library construction that eliminates a few purification/isolation steps.
After size selection, the genomic library heads into bisulfite conversion for which Zymo takes advantage of its considerable bisulfite expertise. According to Zymo Scientist, Dr. Xueguang Sun “Only one round of bisulfite treatment is required and necessary compared with two rounds of bisulfite treatment using the traditional procedure.”
The end result? The whole process just takes two days and needs less genomic DNA input. Less time, fewer steps, and less sample …sounds good.
Sample In, Pretty Data Out
One of the great things about services in fast moving areas like epigenetics research is that you don’t have to be some kind of an epigenetics Jedi Knight to enjoy the Force. “We wanted to offer access to the advantages of RRBS to labs that might not otherwise have the opportunity to use it in their work,” added Sun.
Researchers just need to provide the Human, Mouse, Rat, or Plant sample and, boom, you’ll have data back fast. Data is delivered in an easy to analyze format that puts you on the road to publishing right away.“We include unique software analysis that delivers answers much faster, so that our clients can spend more time where it counts,” shared Sun.
Comprehensive bioinformatics and biostatistics analysis are further performed to give a thorough understanding of epigenetic alteration among the samples. The data output includes three genome browser tracks, which are easily viewed using the UCSC genome browser. Differentially methylated regions are screened out using our proprietary algorithms, which according to Sun,can be very useful for things like epigenetic biomarker identification.
EpiQuest™: At Your Service
Find out more about The EpiQuest Genome-Wide DNA Methylation Analysis Platform at the Zymo Research website.