High-throughput sequencing of the methylome using two-base encoding.

Methylation of Cytosine together with other epigenetic traits plays an important role in the development and regulation of both healthy and diseased cells. Changes in the methylation patterns have been shown to be associated with the development of cancer, growth, neurodevelopmental, and endocrine disorders (Laird PW, Nat Rev Genet 11:191-203, 2010; Tost J, Mol Biotechnol 44:71-81, 2010; Zuo T et al., Epigenomics 1:331-345, 2009). Thus, studying the methylation pattern can give important insights to the underlying causes of disease and development. A method for studying the methylome on a single base resolution is described, using bisulfite sequencing in combination with the high-throughput SOLiD(TM) sequencing technology.