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DNA methylation while you sequence

Nature Reviews Genetics volume 11, pages 454–455 (2010)Cite this article

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Recently, single-molecule, real-time (SMRT) DNA sequencing was developed, in which single DNA polymerase molecules are observed while they catalyse the incorporation of fluorescently labelled nucleotides. The addition of a nucleotide triggers a fluorescent pulse, and the interval between pulses and duration of each pulse provide information about polymerase kinetics, which can be affected by DNA structure. Flusberg and colleagues used SMRT to sequence synthetic templates that were identical apart from the inclusion of 5-methylcytosine (mC), N6-methyladenine (mA) or 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (hmC) at various positions. In doing so, they found unique kinetic 'signatures' that were dependent on both the identity of the methylated base and its sequence context.

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References

ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

  1. Flusberg, B. A. et al. Direct detection of DNA methylation during single-molecule, real-time sequencing. Nature Methods 9 May 2010 (doi: 10.1038/nmeth.1459)

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FURTHER READING

  1. Laird, P. W. Principles and challenges of genome-wide DNA methylation analysis. Nature Rev. Genet. 11, 191–203 (2010)

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Authors
  1. Mary Muers
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Muers, M. DNA methylation while you sequence. Nat Rev Genet 11, 454–455 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg2817

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg2817

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