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Techniques to Study Epigenetic Control and the Epigenome in Parasites

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Parasite Genomics Protocols

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1201))

Abstract

Epigenetics is the study of heritable changes in gene expression that occur independent of the DNA sequence. Due to their intimacy with DNA, histones have a central role in chromatin structure and epigenetic regulation. Their tails are subject to posttranslational modifications (PTMs) that together with chromatin-remodeling proteins control the access of different proteins to DNA and allow a precise response to different environmental conditions. The first part of this chapter is dedicated to histone enrichment methods that allow the study of histones using techniques such as immunoblot or mass spectrometry for the mapping of the histone PTM network. Next we describe chromatin immunoprecipitation-based techniques (ChIP) for study of the epigenome. ChIP followed by microarray or next-generation sequencing enables the precise genomic localization of protein-DNA interactions. These techniques for genome-wide profiling of chromatin provide powerful and efficient tools to study the epigenome.

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Acknowledgement

This work was supported by NIH grants RC4AI092801 (KK), R01AI087625 (KK), and 5T32AI070117-04 (SCN). We thank members of the Kim laboratory for review and helpful suggestions for this chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto Carlos Chagas-Fiocruz, Fiocruz-Paraná. Rua Prof Algacyr Munhoz Mader 3775,CIC, Curitiba - PR, 81.350-010, Brazil

    Sheila C. Nardelli

  2. Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Ullmann 1223, 1300 Morris Park Ave, Bronx, NY, 10461, USA

    Li-Min Ting & Kami Kim

Authors
  1. Sheila C. Nardelli
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  2. Li-Min Ting
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  3. Kami Kim
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kami Kim .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Western Australia, Nedlands, West Australia, Australia

    Christopher Peacock

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Nardelli, S.C., Ting, LM., Kim, K. (2015). Techniques to Study Epigenetic Control and the Epigenome in Parasites. In: Peacock, C. (eds) Parasite Genomics Protocols. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1201. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1438-8_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1438-8_10

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-1437-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-1438-8

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