METHODS AND ALGORITHMS FOR IDENTIFYING GENOMIC REGULATORY SITES

摘要

The invention is directed towards the comprehensive identification of genomic regulatory sites from the genomic DNA of any cell or tissue type. The method comprises the steps of: (i) treating intact chromatin with an agent capable of modifying regulatory sites; (ii) isolating a fragment of genomic sequence associated with the site of modification; (iii) creation of libraries consisting of concatamerised genomic sequences in such a manner that each individual sequence is recognisable; (iv) identifying the genomic location of each unique genomic sequence and (v) analysing the distribution to identify genomic locations with significant enrichment of cloned genomic sequences, `clusters'. The positions of individual genomic sequences and more so of the `clusters' predict the position of genomic regulatory sites. Comparative analysis of such libraries from different biological sources is a method for defining genomic responses to a range of biological effectors, including, pharamaceuticals, diseases, aging and the environment.