Biomaterial Database

[Methods for detection of methylated cytosine residues in DNA]. 2009

S A Smirnikhina, and A V Lavrov

The article provides analysis of common methods for DNA methylation detection. Advantages and limitations of methods used for different purposes are compared. Clue step for most common methods is bisulfite treatment of DNA samples and its protocol is described in details. Recommendations are formulated for each method best in solving specific problems.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007202	Indicators and Reagents	Substances used for the detection, identification, analysis, etc. of chemical, biological, or pathologic processes or conditions. Indicators are substances that change in physical appearance, e.g., color, at or approaching the endpoint of a chemical titration, e.g., on the passage between acidity and alkalinity. Reagents are substances used for the detection or determination of another substance by chemical or microscopical means, especially analysis. Types of reagents are precipitants, solvents, oxidizers, reducers, fluxes, and colorimetric reagents. (From Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed, p301, p499)	Indicator,Reagent,Reagents,Indicators,Reagents and Indicators
D009691	Nucleic Acid Denaturation	Disruption of the secondary structure of nucleic acids by heat, extreme pH or chemical treatment. Double strand DNA is "melted" by dissociation of the non-covalent hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions. Denatured DNA appears to be a single-stranded flexible structure. The effects of denaturation on RNA are similar though less pronounced and largely reversible.	DNA Denaturation,DNA Melting,RNA Denaturation,Acid Denaturation, Nucleic,Denaturation, DNA,Denaturation, Nucleic Acid,Denaturation, RNA,Nucleic Acid Denaturations
D003596	Cytosine	A pyrimidine base that is a fundamental unit of nucleic acids.
D004247	DNA	A deoxyribonucleotide polymer that is the primary genetic material of all cells. Eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms normally contain DNA in a double-stranded state, yet several important biological processes transiently involve single-stranded regions. DNA, which consists of a polysugar-phosphate backbone possessing projections of purines (adenine and guanine) and pyrimidines (thymine and cytosine), forms a double helix that is held together by hydrogen bonds between these purines and pyrimidines (adenine to thymine and guanine to cytosine).	DNA, Double-Stranded,Deoxyribonucleic Acid,ds-DNA,DNA, Double Stranded,Double-Stranded DNA,ds DNA
D013447	Sulfites	Inorganic salts of sulfurous acid.	Sulfite,Sulfites, Inorganic,Inorganic Sulfites
D016133	Polymerase Chain Reaction	In vitro method for producing large amounts of specific DNA or RNA fragments of defined length and sequence from small amounts of short oligonucleotide flanking sequences (primers). The essential steps include thermal denaturation of the double-stranded target molecules, annealing of the primers to their complementary sequences, and extension of the annealed primers by enzymatic synthesis with DNA polymerase. The reaction is efficient, specific, and extremely sensitive. Uses for the reaction include disease diagnosis, detection of difficult-to-isolate pathogens, mutation analysis, genetic testing, DNA sequencing, and analyzing evolutionary relationships.	Anchored PCR,Inverse PCR,Nested PCR,PCR,Anchored Polymerase Chain Reaction,Inverse Polymerase Chain Reaction,Nested Polymerase Chain Reaction,PCR, Anchored,PCR, Inverse,PCR, Nested,Polymerase Chain Reactions,Reaction, Polymerase Chain,Reactions, Polymerase Chain
D017422	Sequence Analysis, DNA	A multistage process that includes cloning, physical mapping, subcloning, determination of the DNA SEQUENCE, and information analysis.	DNA Sequence Analysis,Sequence Determination, DNA,Analysis, DNA Sequence,DNA Sequence Determination,DNA Sequence Determinations,DNA Sequencing,Determination, DNA Sequence,Determinations, DNA Sequence,Sequence Determinations, DNA,Analyses, DNA Sequence,DNA Sequence Analyses,Sequence Analyses, DNA,Sequencing, DNA
D019175	DNA Methylation	Addition of methyl groups to DNA. DNA methyltransferases (DNA methylases) perform this reaction using S-ADENOSYLMETHIONINE as the methyl group donor.	DNA Methylations,Methylation, DNA,Methylations, DNA