Center fro Male Reproductive Epigenomics

项目摘要 传统的遗传学研究是研究DNA或RNA核苷酸信息，而表观遗传学分析的目的是 表征DNA/RNA序列和组蛋白质内的化学修饰。表观遗传变化 在细胞分裂过程中被保留下来，并可能改变某些基因的表达，而不是改变细胞的结构。 核苷酸序列的遗传密码，这不仅是由于定期和自然发生，而且也影响 包括年龄、环境/生活方式和疾病状况等几个因素。更重要的是一些 表观遗传修饰可能通过跨代表观遗传遗传传递给后代。 我们最近的研究表明，父亲获得的代谢产物的代际传递， 一种称为DNA（胞嘧啶-5-）-甲基转移酶2的核酸修饰酶介导的疾病 （Dnmt 2）。受这些发现的启发，P50将专注于表观遗传特征与 在动物模型和人类受试者中的代谢紊乱。为了研究表观遗传调控， 不仅要知道存在什么样的修饰，还要知道它们的基因组位点。因此，高通量 测序将用于分析动物和人类样品中的表观遗传学改变。表观基因组学 核心（核心D）将提供必要的、尖端的生物信息学专业知识，以促进转化的影响 高度集成的P50首先，Core D将协调各个项目的外包库测序 （具体目标#1）。其次，Core D将提供集中式计算服务，以存储、处理和 使用我们内部表征良好的管道分析测序数据（特定目标#2）。最后，Core D将负责托管内部基于网络的服务器，以共享组学数据（具体目标#3）， 为内部和外部研究人员提供了一个轻松访问从各个项目生成的数据的途径。

Project Summary While traditional genetic studies to investigate DNA or RNA nucleotide information, epigenetic analyses aim to characterize chemical modifications within both DNA/RNA sequences and histone proteins. Epigenetic changes are preserved during cell division and potentially modify the expression of certain genes instead of altering the genetic code of nucleotide sequences, which is not only due to regular and natural occurrence but also influenced by several factors including age, the environment/lifestyle, and disease status. More importantly, some epigenetic modifications can potentially be transmitted to offspring by transgenerational epigenetic inheritance. Our more recent study suggests that this intergenerational transmission of paternally acquired metabolic disorders is mediated by a nucleic acid modification enzyme called DNA (cytosine-5-)-methyltransferase 2 (Dnmt2). Inspired by these findings, this P50 will focus on the relationship between epigenetic profiles and metabolic disorders in both animal models and human subjects. To study the epigenetic regulation, it is critical to know not only what kinds of modifications are present but also their genomic loci. Therefore, high-throughput sequencing will be applied to profile epigenetic alterations in both animal and human samples. This Epigenomics Core (Core D) will provide essential, cutting edge, bioinformatical expertise to facilitate the translational impact of this highly integrated P50. Firstly, Core D will coordinate outsource library sequencing for individual projects (Specific Aim #1). Secondly, Core D will provide centralized computational service to store, process, and analyze the sequencing data, using our in-house well-characterized pipelines (Specific Aims #2). Finally, Core D will be responsible for hosting an in-house web-based server to share the omics data (Specific Aim #3), which provides both the internal and external researchers an easy access to the data generated from individual projects.