DNA Methylation Takes a Back Seat To Histone Mods in miRNA RegulationMay 11, 2010DNA methylation has long been considered a key epigenetic driver in transcription, but lately histone modifications have been stealing some of the regulatory thunder. Histone mods like H3K4me3, H3K27me3 and H4 acetylation have shown researchers they’re not afraid to get conrolling when it comes to miRNA transcription either. Researchers from the Institute of Genetics and […]
Getting SMRT with Direct DNA Methylation DetectionMay 10, 2010Discovering a new use for something is always a nice suprise, sort of like finding a forgotten $20 bill in your back pocket. Researchers at Pacific Biosciences realized that their single-molecule, real-time (SMRT) sequencing technique could also have the bonus ability to directly detect DNA methylation (DNAm)—without bisulfite conversion or any other additional sample prep. […]
Forgetting Things? Better Acetylate Your H4K12May 6, 2010Ever feel like you’re forgetting things more often as you get older? Little things like where you put your keys or why you walked into the cold room (not that we would know what that’s like – as far as you know!) can turn into huge mysteries. Researchers now think they’ve pin-pointed why this happens, […]
CpG-SNPs & Allele-Specific Methylation Lead to Fuzzy MethylationMay 6, 2010Interpreting DNA methylation data is tough enough when you get binary, yes/no results, but can be downright maddening when your CpG sites are giving you mixed signals. Researchers at UCSD have found that it’s been allele-specific methylation (ASM) and CpG-SNPs causing much of that “fuzzy methylation”. The scientists tackled the thorny issue of CpGs with […]
microRNA Targeting mRNAs: More Exceptions Than RulesMay 5, 2010Up to now, all miRNAs have been assumed to work the same way when it comes to finding their mRNA targets, but a new paper shows that miRNAs behave more like rugged individualists in how they function. Researchers from the University of Kentucky broke out the RIP-Chip method (Argonaute, aka AGO, co-IP assays coupled with […]
BPA Seeps Into Placental miRNA ExpressionMay 4, 2010Since 2008, Bisphenol A (BPA) has seen more bad press than a big U.S. bank. The media blitz of studies linking BPA to a number of reproductive, immune and CNS disorders has led people to eye suspiciously everything from baby bottles to that cool REI water bottle you’ve been hiking with the last few years. […]
Tracing the Roots of Mesenchymal Stem Cells Yields DNA Methylation InsightsApril 28, 2010Most of us are at least somewhat curious about our lineage: are we descended from a king, an outlaw, or maybe just a particularly snazzy dresser? And do our distant cousins in faraway lands share certain characteristics (such as a penchant for polyester) with us? A group of researchers in Norway asked similar questions about […]
CpG Islands Tackle Chromatin Remodeling ProjectApril 28, 2010Researchers have known about CpG Islands (CGIs) for decades, but there are still more questions than answers when it comes to this heavily studied genomic real-estate. Hypermethylated CGIs seem to get a lot of attention for their apparent involvement in transcriptional silencing, but most CGIs stay unmethylated. So what’s going on in these unmethylated CGIs? […]
ChIP-Sequencing Tips for Small SamplesApril 28, 2010ChIP sequencing (ChIP-Seq) has revolutionized the way researchers can study protein-DNA interactions, enabling genome wide protein binding profiling in one experiment, rather than looking one locus at a time. Not satisfied with pushing just one envelope, today’s researchers are now moving towards samples that are very limited. Fortunately, ChIP methods have aged finer than a […]
RDM1 Corners the RNA Directed DNA Methylation PuzzleApril 28, 2010It’s often easiest to put together a jigsaw puzzle by finding the corner pieces first, then working on the borders before moving on to what’s happening in the center. A similar approach to solving the transcriptional gene silencing (TGS) and RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) mechanisms in Arabidopsis has identified a protein, RDM1, which seems to […]