Epigenetics of Ancient DNA
نویسندگان
چکیده
Initially, the study of DNA isolated from ancient specimens had been based on the analysis of the primary nucleotide sequence. This approach has allowed researchers to study the evolutionary changes that occur in different populations and determine the influence of the environment on genetic selection. However, the improvement of methodological approaches to genome-wide analysis has opened up new possibilities in the search for the epigenetic mechanisms involved in the regulation of gene expression. It was discovered recently that the methylation status of the regulatory elements of the HOXD cluster and MEIS1 gene changed during human evolution. Epigenetic changes in these genes played a key role in the evolution of the limbs of modern humans. Recent works have demonstrated that it is possible to determine the transcriptional activity of genes in ancient DNA samples by combining information on DNA methylation and the DNAaseI hypersensitive sequences located at the transcription start sites of genes. In the nearest future, if a preserved fossils brain is found, it will be possible to identify the evolutionary changes in the higher nervous system associated with epigenetic differences.
منابع مشابه
The First Complete Human Paleogenome 255 2.1.4 Human and Neandertal Paleogenomics 255 2.2 the Black Death and Insights into Ancient Plagues 257 2.3 Reconstruction and Selection of Ancient Phenotypes 258 2.4 Epigenetics of Ancient Species 260
1 Reconstructing Paleogenomes 245 1.1 Ancient DNA 245 1.1.1 The Nature of Ancient DNA 245 1.1.2 The Common Effects of DNA Damage 246 1.2 The Recovery and Sequencing of Ancient DNA 246 1.2.1 Ancient DNA Extraction 246 1.2.2 DNA Library Preparation 247 1.2.3 Capture-Based Target Enrichment 248 1.2.4 Quantification of aDNA and Sequencing 249 1.3 Assembly and Analysis of a Paleogenome 250 1.3.1 Ini...
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