Epigenetics and ncRNA Background and Challenges

Epigenetics and noncoding RNA research have seen explosive growth in recent years, but these fields are still young and poised for major advances in the near future. To fully realize the massive potential of these research areas, scientists must first overcome a number of challenges. Some of these challenges are biological, while others are technical.

Through its diverse technology portfolio, Life Technologies is focused on delivering improved solutions for epigenetics and noncoding RNA researchers. These solutions take the form of products, services, collaborations, and information that address challenges in DNA methylation, chromatin, and noncoding RNA analysis.

Despite significant advances in technology and a flood of novel research findings, the precise role of DNA methylation in development and disease remains a mystery. Today researchers studying DNA methylation seek:

• Improved approaches for methylated DNA sample preparation
• Cost-effective approaches for performing high-coverage DNA methylation assays
• Increased assay sensitivity, enabling analysis of limited homogenous cell types

Life Technologies offers advanced solutions for bisulfite-based applications, DNA methylation enrichment, and sequencing that address these needs. We’re committed to maintaining our connection with the research community to make continued progress toward a better understanding of DNA methylation and epigenetics.

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Recent innovations in chromatin immunoprecipitation paired with microarrays and high-throughput sequencing have enabled unprecedented views into protein–DNA interactions and chromatin architecture in a wide range of biological models. Even with such rapid progress in technology, researchers seeking to better understand the dynamic processes in which chromatin is involved face many significant challenges. Today, researchers seek solutions that:

• Enable studies of chromatin looping and other structural events within the nucleus
• Identify histone-binding proteins at various histone modification states
• Allow improved capturing and measuring of the presence of specific histone modifications

Life Technologies’ chromatin analysis solutions range from modular ChIP-qualified antibodies and kits to the more integrated SOLiD ChIP Seq workflow. We’re committed to continuing our work with the research community to understand the complex role of chromatin in epigenetic processes.

See our solutions for Chromatin Analysis

Research in noncoding RNAs has surged in recent years, a result of scientific findings linking these potent regulators to epigenetic, transcriptional, and posttranscriptional processes in a range of biological models. Today, researchers are trying to make sense of a very complex transcriptome by identifying and assigning function to the diverse noncoding RNA repertoire in normal and disease states. They seek advances in technology that will:

• Enable precise profiling of the many types of noncoding RNA in complex transcriptomes
• Allow strand-specific sequencing capable of sense and anti-sense noncoding RNA analysis
• Help understand allele-specific expression
• Measure minute changes in noncoding RNA expression

Life Technologies™ SOLiD RNA-seq assays and gold standard TaqMan assays address these unique profiling challenges, while our diverse RNAi solutions, Ambion Pre-miR™ miRNA Precursor and Inhibitors, extend into functional analysis of noncoding RNAs. We look forward to a continued partnership with researchers to tackle the remaining barriers to understanding the role noncoding RNA plays in epigenetics and gene regulation.

Learn more about our Noncoding RNA Analysis solutions