A new technique that will transform epigenetics research Scientists at Cambridge University and the Babraham Institute have demonstrated a new technique that will significantly improve scientists’ ability to perform epigenetics research and help unlock the door to understanding how cells develop and function. Collaboration between scientists at Cambridge University and the Babraham Institute have demonstrated a new technique that will significantly improve scientists’ ability to perform epigenetics research and help unlock the door to understanding how cells develop and function. Epigenetics is a branch of genetics that studies modifications to the DNA which affect gene activity. The research, published in the journal Science of April 26 has important implications for stem cell research and the development of regenerative medicines. (Quantitative sequencing of 5-methylcytosine and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine at single base resolution. Authors: Michael J. Booth, Miguel R. Branco, Gabriella Ficz, David Oxley, Felix Krueger, Wolf Reik & Shankar Balasubramanian. See: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/early/2012/04/25/science.1220671.full#comments). All the cells in the body have the same DNA sequence (genome), but it is how this DNA sequence is interpreted that results in the formation of different cell types. Epigenetic changes control how a DNA sequence is interpreted, specifically how different genes are switched on and off in different cell types, tissues and organs. One of the most studied epigenetic marks is the addition of a very small chemical modification called a methyl group to DNA, which turns associated genes off. Methyl groups are always added to the DNA base cytosine and so this chemical modification is called 5-methylcytosine (5mC). Babraham Institute scientists are involved in researching the role of another DNA chemical modification in mammals called 5-hydroxymethyl-cytosine (5hmC), which is believed to be important for stem cell function, helping to define how the body develops. 5hmC may be a separate epigenetic mark or possibly be part of the process which removes methyl groups from DNA, allowing genes to be switched on again. Decoding the ‘epigenome’ will provide greater understanding of how cells are regulated and has major implications for regenerative medicine and how cells such as stem cells can be controlled. One of the teams involved in the above mentioned studies (group Wolf Reik) is supported by EU-FP7-Health projects BLUEPRINT (http://www.blueprint-epigenome.eu/) and EpiGeneSys (http://www.epigenesys.eu/) Countries Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Finland, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia, United Kingdom
