German Human Methylome Project Started

To the Editor:

In the December issue of Cancer Research, Jones and Martiensen report on an AACR meeting of scientists interested in DNA methylation and epigenetics (1). The aim of that meeting was to prepare the grounds for a human epigenome project, which is certainly needed as concluded by Rauscher in an editorial in the same issue of Cancer Research (2). In this respect, we would like to announce that the German Genome Research Network (NGFN) has funded a National Methylome project for chromosome 21 (NAME 21). The project was started in summer 2005 with the aim to provide a DNA methylation map of all promoters on chromosome 21 in different cell lines and tissues. The project is funded for 3 years with a total budget of 1.7 million Euro. It is a collaboration of the Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics departments of International University Bremen and Universität des Saarlands (Saarbrücken) with the sequencing centers at Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics (Berlin) and Fritz Lippmann Institute for Age Research (Jena). The study is based on bisulfite conversion of DNA followed by subcloning and DNA sequencing. Initial results illustrate tight correlation of gene expression and DNA methylation as well as correlation of DNA methylation and other epigenetic marks. Details on the project can be found at http://www.faculty.iu-bremen.de/ajeltsch/name/index.htm, where also initial results will be posted when available. The German NAME 21 consortium is open for collaborations and will be happy to participate in a broader international effort to unravel the human epigenetic map.