Characterizing genetic and environmental influences on variable DNA methylation using monozygotic and dizygotic twins.

ABSTRACT: Variation in DNA methylation is being increasingly associated with health and disease outcomes. Although DNA methylation is hypothesized to be a mechanism by which both genetic and non-genetic factors can influence the regulation of gene expression, little is known about the extent to which DNA methylation at specific sites is influenced by heritable as well as environmental factors. We quantified DNA methylation in whole blood at age 18 in a birth cohort of 1,464 individuals comprising 426 monozygotic (MZ) and 306 same-sex dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs. Site-specific levels of DNA methylation were more strongly correlated across the genome between MZ than DZ twins. Structural equation models revealed that although the average contribution of additive genetic influences on DNA methylation acro

SUBMITTER: Hannon E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6084815 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature