Detection of DNA Methylation Changes Surrounding Transposable Elements

Abstract

Transposable elements (TEs) are a major component of all genomes, thus the epigenetic mechanisms controlling their activity is an important field of study. Cytosine methylation is one of the factors regulating the transcription and transposition of TEs, alongside Histone modifications and small RNAs. Adapter PCR-based methods [such as Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP)] have been successfully used as high-throughput methods to genotype un-sequenced genomes. Here we use methylation-sensitive restriction enzymes, in combination with PCR on adaptor-ligated restriction fragments, to evaluate epigenetic changes in TEs between genomic DNA samples.