Benefits of Methylation Analysis
DNA methylation analysis can help researchers gain valuable insight into gene regulation and identify potential biomarkers. Aberrant DNA methylation has been implicated in many disease processes, including cancer, obesity, and addiction. DNA methylation is also a common subject of agrigenomic investigations into responses to drought, temperature extremes, and other environmental changes.
High-throughput technologies such as next-generation sequencing (NGS) and microarrays enable genome-wide methylation profiling studies. These technologies offer new ways to understand the significance of DNA methylation, providing novel insights into the functional consequences of variation.
Key DNA Methylation Analysis Methods
Methylation Sequencing with NGSNGS enables comprehensive profiling of methylation patterns at single-base resolution across the whole genome, or in targeted epigenetic regions of interest. |
Methylation MicroarraysArrays enable quantitative interrogation of selected methylation sites across the genome, offering high-throughput capabilities that minimize the cost per sample. |
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| Most important to me | Comprehensive methylome coverage | High throughput (large sample numbers) |
| Least important to me | Throughput | Coverage |
| #CpGs covered | ~36 million CpGs (whole genome) ~3.3. million CpGs (targeted) |
3,000 – 850,000 CpGs |
| Species | All (whole genome) Human (targeted) |
Human & Mouse (flagship arrays) All others (custom arrays) |
| Learn More About Methylation Sequencing | Learn More About Methylation Arrays |
Field Guide to Methylation Methods
An overview of the impact of cytosine methylation and the primary methods used to detect cytosine modifications.
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Featured Methylation Profiling Research
Methylome and Clinical Outcomes: An Interview with Dr. Kathleen C. Barnes
In this wide-ranging interview, Dr. Kathleen C. Barnes describes her work as a genetic epidemiologist, how COVID-19 impacted her research plans, and how methylation arrays add another dimension to the study of infectious diseases.
Read InterviewEpigenetic Contributions to Addiction
Targeted methylation sequencing identifies epigenetic signatures that correlate with brain image scans of substance abusers.
Read InterviewMethylation and Metastasis
Researchers investigate the epigenetics behind cancer metastasis using DNA methylation microarrays and NGS.
Read InterviewRelated Solutions
Epigenetic Changes in Cancer
Studies of epigenetic alterations in cancer, such as aberrant methylation and transcription factor binding, can provide insight into important tumorigenic pathways. Learn more about cancer epigenetics research.
Methylation Profiling for Complex Disease
Methylation provides insight into why genes may be expressed at a given level. Epigenetic processes have established links to various complex diseases, including cancers, autoimmune disorders, neurological disorders, and psychiatric disorders. Learn more about gene target identifcation in complex disease research.
Chromatin Accessibility Analysis
ATAC-Seq does not require prior knowledge of regulatory elements, making it a powerful epigenetic discovery tool. It is a popular method for determining chromatin accessibility across the genome. Learn more about ATAC-Seq.
Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS)
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) use high-throughput genomics to quickly scan entire genomes of large groups to find genetic variants correlated with a trait or disease. Learn more about GWAS.
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Additional Resources
When Whole-Genome Sequencing Is Not Enough
Researchers explore cancer subtypes using Illumina technology for whole-exome, whole-genome, and whole-epigenome sequencing.
Epigenome Roadmap
A collection of research papers that systematically characterize epigenomic landscapes in primary human tissues and cells.
Epigenome Blueprint
A consortium generating 100 reference epigenomes to understand gene activation and repression in healthy and diseased human cells.
Targeted Methylation Analysis
TruSeq Methyl Capture EPIC rapidly produces target enrichment-based bisulfite sequencing libraries from human DNA samples.