STAR-PROTOCOLS-D-21-00834

Identifying germline differentially methylated regions (DMRs) in outbred animals remains a challenge as collecting sufficient single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from individuals for genome-wide allelic analysis is both time and resource consuming. To overcome this difficulty, we developed two computational methods, TARSII and CARSII, which allow accurate prediction of germline DMRs independent of SNPs. Furthermore, we introduce an easy and quick way to validate the predicted germline DMRs. Our strategy will greatly facilitate de novo identification of germline DMRs in outbred animals.

在远交系动物中鉴定生殖系差异甲基化区域（germline differentially methylated regions，DMRs）仍是一项挑战，因为从个体中获取足够的单核苷酸多态性（single-nucleotide polymorphisms，SNPs）以开展全基因组等位基因分析，既耗时又消耗大量资源。为破解这一难题，我们开发了TARSII与CARSII两种计算方法，可在不依赖单核苷酸多态性（SNPs）的前提下精准预测生殖系差异甲基化区域（DMRs）。此外，我们还提出了一种简便快捷的方法，用于验证所预测得到的生殖系差异甲基化区域（DMRs）。本研究策略将极大促进远交系动物生殖系差异甲基化区域（DMRs）的从头鉴定工作。