Abstract 374: A novel sequencing method for genome-wide profiling of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine with single-base resolution

Abstract

5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) is an epigenetic mark abundant in embryo stem cells and brain tissues. The exact biological functions of 5hmC are still under close investigation although several lines of evidence have indicated it could be involved in active DNA demethylation. Meanwhile, extensive studies have been carried out to determine its genomic distribution. A number of approaches have been developed using either affinity based enrichment, such as hMeDIP, that rely on antibody and other specific binding proteins to target 5hmC, or modified bisulfite sequencing, namely oxidative bisulfite sequencing (OxBS) and TET assisted bisulfite sequencing (TAB-sequencing). However, all those methods have limitations which hamper their application. For example, affinity based methods lack single base resolution while modified bisulfite sequencing methods require efficient chemical or enzymatic oxidation which cannot be easily achieved or guaranteed. As an alternative, we have developed a novel genome-wide sequencing method that utilizes an enzyme based modification approach coupled with bisulfite-sequencing for detecting 5hmC. This methodology allows quantification of 5hmC levels with single CpG resolution and can also be employed for locus-specific assays. Using this method, we were able to map and quantify 5hmC sites at the genomic scale for several different biological samples. This novel method can determine the exact location and abundance of 5hmC, which will facilitate our understanding of 5hmC in regulating gene expression in different biological contexts. Citation Format: Xueguang Sun, Tzu-Hung Chung, Yap Ching Chew, Darany Tan, Xi-Yu Jia. A novel sequencing method for genome-wide profiling of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine with single-base resolution. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 374. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-374