Season of conception in rural gambia affects DNA methylation at putative human metastable epialleles.

ABSTRACT: Throughout most of the mammalian genome, genetically regulated developmental programming establishes diverse yet predictable epigenetic states across differentiated cells and tissues. At metastable epialleles (MEs), conversely, epigenotype is established stochastically in the early embryo then maintained in differentiated lineages, resulting in dramatic and systemic interindividual variation in epigenetic regulation. In the mouse, maternal nutrition affects this process, with permanent phenotypic consequences for the offspring. MEs have not previously been identified in humans. Here, using an innovative 2-tissue parallel epigenomic screen, we identified putative MEs in the human genome. In autopsy samples, we showed that DNA methylation at these loci is highly correlated across tissues rep

SUBMITTER: Waterland RA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3009670 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature