AgResearch, New Zealand; Liggins Institute, University of Auckland, New Zealand.
J Proteomics. 2012 Jun 27;75(12):3400-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jprot.2012.01.036. Epub 2012 Feb 14.
Epigenomic variation may underlie phenotypic diversity that is not attributable to differences in genomic sequence. Such processes provide an organism the flexibility to respond to changing environmental cues within its lifetime, and perhaps its offspring's lifetime, and would therefore be expected to confer a selective advantage in evolutionary terms. Analysis of epigenomic variation within a population may be both a useful measure of developmental exposures and an indicator of future phenotype. A key molecular indicator of epigenomic variation in organisms is the chemical modification of DNA by methylation at specific nucleotide residues in the genome. Here we discuss how mass spectrometry can be utilised to provide quantitative analysis of DNA methylation patterns across populations. This article is part of a Special Section entitled: Understanding genome regulation and genetic diversity by mass spectrometry.
表观基因组变异可能是表型多样性的基础，而这种表型多样性不能归因于基因组序列的差异。这种过程为生物体提供了灵活性，使其能够在其一生中，甚至可能在其后代的一生中，对环境变化做出反应，因此从进化的角度来看，它应该具有选择优势。对群体中的表观基因组变异进行分析，既可以作为发育暴露的有用衡量标准，也可以作为未来表型的指标。生物体中表观基因组变异的一个关键分子指标是基因组中特定核苷酸残基处的 DNA 通过甲基化发生的化学修饰。在这里，我们将讨论如何利用质谱法对人群中的 DNA 甲基化模式进行定量分析。本文是专题“通过质谱法理解基因组调控和遗传多样性”的一部分。
