News

Four individuals, 18 tissues, and lots of discoveries
October 23, 2015

In February, epigeneticists published the majority of the results from the US Epigenome Roadmap Program in 24 publications (see Newsletter 01/2015 epigenetics). Joseph Ecker and team at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California now have additional data. The researchers from California analysed the complete DNA methylation patterns in 18 tissues from four different individuals. They were then able to assign tissues of origin using epigenomic information. The DNA of pancreatic cells, for example, is only slightly methylated, while the DNA in the thymus has greater methylation. Not surprisingly, the genes in muscle tissues are hardly methylated and thus switched on, which is necessary for proper muscle function.

Source: http://www.newsletter-epigenetik.de/