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Seminars
Comparing Epigenomes of Pluripotent Stem Cells
Thursday, November 8, 2012
3:30 pm - 5:00 pm
3:30 pm - 5:00 pm
Location: BME 3.204
Seminar Abstract
Despite the explosive growth of genomic data, functional annotation of the regulatory sequences remains difficult. Here we introduce ‘comparative epigenomics’ – interspecies comparison of epigenomes – as a novel approach for annotation of the regulatory genome. We measured in human, mouse, and pig pluripotent stem cells the genomic distributions of nine epigenomic marks, four transcription factors, and transcribed RNAs. We made the unexpected observation that epigenomic conservation was strong in both fast-evolving and slowly evolving DNA sequences, but not in neutrally evolving sequences. In contrast, evolutionary changes of the epigenome and the transcriptome exhibited a linear correlation. We suggest that the conserved co-localization of different epigenomic marks can be used to discover regulatory sequences. Indeed, seven pairs of epigenomic marks thus identified exhibited regulatory functions during differentiation of embryonic stem cells into mesendoderm cells. Thus, comparative epigenomics reveals regulatory features of the genome that cannot be discerned from sequence comparisons alone.
Speaker Biographical Information
Despite the explosive growth of genomic data, functional annotation of the regulatory sequences remains difficult. Here we introduce ‘comparative epigenomics’ – interspecies comparison of epigenomes – as a novel approach for annotation of the regulatory genome. We measured in human, mouse, and pig pluripotent stem cells the genomic distributions of nine epigenomic marks, four transcription factors, and transcribed RNAs. We made the unexpected observation that epigenomic conservation was strong in both fast-evolving and slowly evolving DNA sequences, but not in neutrally evolving sequences. In contrast, evolutionary changes of the epigenome and the transcriptome exhibited a linear correlation. We suggest that the conserved co-localization of different epigenomic marks can be used to discover regulatory sequences. Indeed, seven pairs of epigenomic marks thus identified exhibited regulatory functions during differentiation of embryonic stem cells into mesendoderm cells. Thus, comparative epigenomics reveals regulatory features of the genome that cannot be discerned from sequence comparisons alone.
Speaker Biographical Information
