Abstract
DNA methylation is an epigenetic form of gene regulation that is universally important throughout the life course, especially during in utero and postnatal development. DNA methylation aids in cell cycle regulation and cellular differentiation processes. Previous studies have demonstrated that DNA methylation profiles may be altered by diet and the environment, and that these profiles are especially vulnerable during development. Thus, it is important to understand the role of DNA methylation in developmental governance and subsequent disease progression. A variety of molecular methods exist to assay for global, gene-specific, and epigenome-wide methylation. Here we describe these methods and discuss their relative strengths and limitations.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by NIH grant ES017524. Support for KES and MSN was provided by an Institutional Training Grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), NIH (T32 ES007062).
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Sant, K.E., Nahar, M.S., Dolinoy, D.C. (2012). DNA Methylation Screening and Analysis. In: Harris, C., Hansen, J. (eds) Developmental Toxicology. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 889. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-867-2_24
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-867-2_24
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