DNA Methylation Analysis
Understanding the role of methylation in regulating gene expression
What is DNA methylation analysis?
DNA methylation analysis allows scientists to 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 used to provide a better understanding of how drought, temperature extremes, and other environmental changes affect agricultural genomics or agrigenomics.
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 epigenetic variation.
How to analyze DNA methylation
Methylation microarray technology is a proven approach to analyze DNA methylation. These arrays enable quantitative interrogation of selected methylation sites across the genome, offering high-throughput capabilities that minimize the cost per sample. Features of methylation microarrays include:
- High throughput (large sample numbers)
- Genome-wide coverage of expertly curated content
- Reproducibility
- Streamlined workflow
- Validated for formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples
- Coverage for 3,000-850,000 CpGs
- Available with flagship human and mouse arrays with options for other custom arrays
How is methylation profiling used in research?
Explore methods that use methylation analysis to study gene regulation across different applications.
Methylome and clinical outcomes
Genetic epidemiologist Dr. Kathleen C. Barnes discusses how methylation arrays add another dimension to the study of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.
Epigenetic contributions to addiction
Targeted methylation sequencing identifies epigenetic signatures that correlate with brain image scans of substance abusers.
Methylation and metastasis
Researchers investigate the epigenetics behind cancer metastasis using DNA methylation microarrays and NGS.
Related 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.
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.
Featured Products
iScan System
This innovative array scanner offers high-precision, high-throughput microarray scanning for genetic analysis. The system uses high-performance lasers, optics, and detection systems to offer submicron resolution, high throughput, and extremely rapid scan times without sacrificing data quality or reproducibility.
Infinium MethylationEPIC v2.0 Kit
Robust methylation profiling microarray with extensive coverage of CpG islands, genes, and enhancers. Use for epigenome-wide association studies.
Infinium Mouse Methylation BeadChip
Robust methylation profiling microarray with extensive coverage of CpG islands, genes, and enhancers. Use for epigenome-wide association studies.
Additional resources
Methylation sequencing
Learn more about the advantages of methylation sequencing, including bisulfite conversion sequencing.
Modeling epigenetic regulation from multiomic data
Watch this webinar to see how to model epigenetic regulation of gene expression from single-cell multiomic data.
Epigenetics and neuropsychiatric disease
Learn how Dr. Kristen Brennand integrates whole-genome or whole-exome sequencing data with transcriptome and epigenetic information to help identify genes and pathways that have a role in disease.