While a “bird’s-eye view” of a topic can often provide colossal insight, the opposite perspective can sometimes be just as useful! Recently, two fascinating studies of transgenerational epigenetic inheritance have taken a “worm’s-eye view” of this research area to deepen our understanding of this complex mechanism in the model nematode worm C. elegans. C. elegans […]
- Features
Features
EpiGenie Features call out new Methods, provide Insights into emerging trends, or sometimes just share technical tips from the experts in our community.
Micro-C and Single-Cell Hi-C Provide Macro Chromosome Conformation Insights
Genome-wide chromosome conformation capture analyses, such as Hi-C, have provided us with snapshots of the large-scale spatial architecture of mammalian genomes, describing chromatin compartments, topologically associating domains (TADs), and CTCF– and cohesin-mediated chromatin loops in many cell types. However, the resolution of Hi-C-based protocols, limited by the size and uniformity of chromatin fragmentation, represents a […]
EpiGenie Guide: Chromatin Shearing
ChIP-Seq has transformed the field of epigenetics, providing unprecedented resolution and coverage for surveying protein- DNA interactions. Powerful, high-throughput sequencing is credited with most of the benefits, but there’s a lot more that goes into ChIP-Seq than sequencing. Chromatin shearing is one of the first critical steps in the ChIP-Seq workflow. Depending on your approach, […]
MeCP2 on the Brain: Repressing Transcription of Long Highly Methylated Genes
It seems that everyone has MeCP2 on the brain – as evidenced by its starring role in two new Molecular Cell papers – but it’s in your brain too! The MeCP2 protein is essential for neuronal function and consistent with this, loss-of-function mutations in MeCP2 cause the neurodevelopmental disorder Rett syndrome. Unfortunately, because MeCP2 acts […]
A Perfect Harmony: Orchestrating Joint Chromatin Conformation and Methylome Mapping in Single Cells
If a better understanding of gene regulation is music to your ears, then tune in for the latest developments in single-cell epigenomics. It is well established that both DNA methylation and higher-order chromatin structure play crucial roles in development, differentiation and disease, and there are readily available technologies for both (whole-genome bisulfite sequencing and chromatin […]