Encyclopedia of DNA Elements

The ENCODE (Encyclopedia of DNA Elements) Consortium is an international collaboration of research groups funded by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). The goal of ENCODE is to build a comprehensive parts list of functional elements in the human genome including elements that act at the protein and RNA levels, and regulatory elements that control cells and circumstances in which a gene is active. ENCODE investigators employ a variety of assays and methods to identify functional elements. The discovery and annotation of gene elements is accomplished primarily by sequencing a diverse range of RNA sources, comparative genomics, integrative bioinformatic methods, and human curation. Regulatory elements are typically investigated through DNA hypersensitivity assays, assays of DNA methylation, and immunoprecipitation (IP) of proteins that interact with DNA and RNA, i.e., modified histones, transcription factors, chromatin regulators, and RNA-binding proteins, followed by sequencing.

DNA元件百科全书（Encyclopedia of DNA Elements，简称ENCODE）联盟是由美国国家人类基因组研究所（National Human Genome Research Institute, NHGRI）资助的国际科研协作项目，汇聚了全球多支研究团队。该联盟的核心目标是构建人类基因组功能元件的完整清单，涵盖在蛋白质与RNA层面发挥功能的元件，以及调控细胞活动与基因激活条件的各类调控元件。ENCODE的研究人员采用多种检测技术与实验方法以识别功能元件：基因元件的发现与注释工作主要通过对多样化RNA样本进行测序、比较基因组学分析、整合生物信息学方法，以及人工手动注释完成；调控元件的研究通常借助DNA超敏性检测、DNA甲基化检测，以及与DNA和RNA互作的蛋白质（即修饰组蛋白、转录因子、染色质调控因子与RNA结合蛋白）的免疫沉淀（immunoprecipitation, IP）后测序技术来实现。

搜集汇总

背景与挑战

背景概述

ENCODE（DNA元件百科全书）是一个国际协作项目，旨在全面识别和注释人类基因组中的功能元件，包括蛋白质、RNA相关元件以及调控基因活性的区域。该项目采用多种实验技术和生物信息学方法，通过测序、比较基因组学等手段对这些元件进行系统研究。