CpG context and content in evolutionary signatures of brain DNA methylation. CpG context and content in evolutionary signatures of brain DNA methylation

We assayed CpG methylation in cerebral cortex of neurologically and psychiatrically normal human postmortem specimens, as well as mouse forebrain specimens. Cross-species human-mouse DNA methylation conservation analysis shows that DNA methylation is not correlated with sequence conservation. Instead, greater DNA methylation conservation is correlated with increasing CpG density. We identified key genomic features that can be targeted for identification of epigenetic loci that may be developmentally and evolutionarily conserved and wherein aberrations in DNA methylation patterns can confer risk for disease. Overall design: Characterization of evolutionary signatures of DNA methylation in the brain