Advancements in Genetic Engineering
Open Access

Abstract

Joint Imaging and Sequencing of Protein-DNA Interactions in Single Cells Using a Microfluidic Approach

Nicolas satura

The epigenome is made up of protein-DNA interactions that include interactions with histone proteins, transcription factors, DNA (de)methylases, and chromatin remodelling complexes, among other things. These interactions allow the nucleus's static DNA sequence to dynamically execute various gene expression programmes that form the cell's identity and behaviour. Methods for measuring protein-DNA interactions have proven important for understanding the epigenome, but much of what we know so far has come from bulk cell population experiments. These bulk methods can miss essential epigenomic processes that occur in small numbers of dividing cells, such as those that affect embryo formation, developmental diseases, stem cell differentiation, and certain cancers, because they require large numbers of cells.