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Exploring epigenetic change in the human genome

August 22nd, 2013

Researchers from Tübingen and Harvard Universities have employed new statistical methods to discover more about the importance of epigenetic markers. Michael Ziller, a Tübingen PhD candidate and Fellow at Harvard's Department for Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology (HSCRB), has collaborated with his supervisors, the Harvard professor Alexander Meissner (HSCRB) and the Tübingen professor Oliver Kohlbacher (Center for Bioinformatics and Dept. of Computer Science) to collate and analyze genomes from 30 different types of human tissue. Using statistical methods to process the vast amounts of data involved, they were able to isolate areas in which the epigenetic markers play a particularly dynamic role.

Epigenetic markers are modifications of the DNA and provide instructions on which genes to transcribe. These markers differ from tissue to tissue. Epigenetic markers are so stable that they can be inherited along with the information within the DNA chains. The work of Michael Ziller and Professors Meissner and Kohlbacher allows the scientists to identify key areas for future research in the relatively new field of Epigenetics.

More information:
Ziller, M. et al. Charting a dynamic DNA methylation landscape of the human genome, Nature, Vol. 500, Nr. 7463, 22 August 2013, doi 10.1038/nature12433. www.nature.com/nature/journal/v500/n7463/

Provided by University of Tübingen

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