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Assessment of DNA Epigenetic Modifications
Version 2 2020-02-10, 16:34
Version 1 2019-11-20, 16:45
journal contribution
posted on 2020-02-10, 16:34 authored by Bi-Feng YuanDNA molecules utilize adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine for
coding genetic information. In addition to these four canonical nucleobases,
DNA molecules also contain a variety of modified nucleobases that
can control and regulate gene expression and chromosome structure.
Elucidating the functions of DNA modifications relies on the sensitive
detection, accurate quantification, and genome-wide mapping of these
modifications in genomic DNA. The significant advances of techniques
and methods in recent years have enabled the discovery and functional
studies of a number of new modifications in DNA in both prokaryotes
and eukaryotes. Mass spectrometry-based methods for analyzing DNA
modifications have substantially advanced over the past decade, which
has greatly stimulated the research of DNA epigenetic modifications.
The emergence of next-generation sequencing technology provides complementary
methodology to enable genome-wide mapping of modifications, which
is very important to reveal the biological roles of DNA modifications.
This perspective highlights the recent methodologies for the assessment
of DNA modifications with focus on mass spectrometry and sequencing
analytical strategies.