Intergenerational Transmission of Dad’s Diet: Dnmt2 Provides a Big Payload of Small RNAsMay 4, 2018Dnmt2 represents the lesser-known child of the DNA-methyltransferase family, but not because of any lack of pizazz or stage presence, but perhaps due to the lack of detectable DNA-cytosine methylation activity when compared to its more well-known brethren (Dnmt1 and Dnmt3). Instead of modifying DNA, Dnmt2 plays a big role in transfer RNA (tRNA) methylation […]
Two Barcodes, One DNA Fragment: Budget-Friendly Single-Cell Whole-Genome Bisulfite SequencingApril 29, 2018While single-cell whole-genome bisulfite sequencing is rapidly evolving, the associated price tag hasn’t been quite as dynamic. This lack of dynamism is primarily because current single-cell whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (scWGBS) methods are limited by the need to process each cell in individual reaction vessels and also low alignment rates. These limitations mean a high (financial) […]
TERRA lncRNA Tailors a Trimethylation Trio at TelomeresApril 27, 2018A good tailor will make any scientist look presentable in an expensive suit or a glitzy dress (when we escape the confines of a lab coat) and now, the group of Maria A. Blasco (CNIO, Madrid, Spain) describes how long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) tailor our telomeric DNA with just enough trimethylated histones to suit any […]
Transposons and DNA Methylation Learn to Get AlongApril 26, 2018A lot of things just don’t mix well, dogs and cats, oil and water, and as most geneticists would agree, transposons and DNA methylation. DNA methylation is the mortal enemy of transposon activity; across the tree of life it has a conserved role silencing transposable elements from plants, to algae, to vertebrates. This suggests DNA […]
dmrseq Powers-Up Whole-Genome Bisulfite Sequencing AnalysisApril 16, 2018In our modern world, power is everything. Whether it be political, social, or even statistical, humankind always thirsts for more. While political and social power may be a little beyond our scope, a new bioinformatic package has come forth to power up your ability to detect differentially methylated regions (DMRs) from whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) […]
