Abstract Epigenetic factors underlie cellular identity through the regulation of transcriptional networks that establish a cell’s phenotype and function. Cell conversions are directed by transcription factor binding at target DNA which induce changes to identity-specific gene regulatory programs. The degree of cell plasticity is determined by the interplay of epigenetic mechanisms to create a landscape susceptible to such binding events. 5-hydroxymethylcytosine, a key intermediate during the process of DNA demethy…

Abstract Background Colorectal cancer (CRC) progression from adenoma to adenocarcinoma is associated with global reduction in 5-methylcytosine (5mC) and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC). DNA hypomethylation continues upon liver metastasis. Here we examine 5hmC changes upon progression to liver metastasis. Results 5hmC is increased in metastatic liver tissue relative to the primary colon tumour and expression of TET2 and TET3 is negatively correlated with risk for metastasis in patients with CRC. Genes associated wit…

<title>Abstract</title> 5-methylcytosine (5mC) and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) are modified versions of cytosine in DNA with roles in regulating gene expression. Using whole genomic DNA from mouse cerebellum, we have benchmarked 5mC and 5hmC detection by Oxford Nanopore Technologies sequencing against other standard techniques. In addition, we assessed the ability of duplex base-calling to study strand asymmetric modification. Nanopore detection of 5mC and 5hmC is accurate relative to compared techniques and op…

Abstract Background There is widespread interest in the three-dimensional chromatin conformation of the genome and its impact on gene expression. However, these studies frequently do not consider parent-of-origin differences, such as genomic imprinting, which result in monoallelic expression. In addition, genome-wide allele-specific chromatin conformation associations have not been extensively explored. There are few accessible bioinformatic workflows for investigating allelic conformation differences and these re…

Abstract Cytosine hydroxymethylation (5hmC) in mammalian DNA is the product of oxidation of methylated cytosines (5mC) by Ten-Eleven-Translocation (TET) enzymes. While it has been shown that the TETs influence 5mC metabolism, pluripotency and differentiation during early embryonic development, the functional relationship between gene expression and 5hmC in adult (somatic) stem cell differentiation is still unknown. Here we report that 5hmC levels undergo highly dynamic changes during adult stem cell differentiatio…