Chemical Methods to Identify Epigenetic Modifications in Cytosine Bases

Abstract

AbstractChemical modifications to Cytosine bases are among the most studied epigenetic markers and their detection in the human genome plays a crucial role in gaining more insights about gene regulation, prognosis of genetic disorders and unraveling genetic inheritance patterns. The Cytosine methylated at the 5th position and oxidized derivatives thereof generated in the demethylation pathways, perform separate and unique epigenetic functions in an organism. As the presence of various Cytosine modifications is associated with diverse diseases, including cancer, there has been a strong focus on developing methods, both chemical and alternative approaches, capable of detecting these modifications at a single‐base resolution across the entire genome. In this comprehensive review, we aim to consolidate the various chemical methods and understanding their chemistry that have been established to date for the detection of various Cytosine modifications.