Methylomic trajectories across human fetal brain development. Homo sapiens

Dynamic changes to the epigenome mediate key neurobiological and cognitive processes in the central nervous system, and also play a role in transcriptional regulation during brain development. Although the importance of DNA methylation in brain development is highlighted by the neurodevelopmental deficits associated with mutations in genes including methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (MECP2), our knowledge about the specific methylomic trajectories associated with human neurodevelopment is extremely limited. Here we report an analysis of genome-wide patterns of DNA methylation in 179 human fetal brain samples. Overall design: Bisulphite converted DNA from 179 human brain samples was hybridized to the Illumina 450K Human Methylation Beadchip.