[Perspective of DNA methylation in forensic genetics and new progress of its detection methods]

As an important epigenetic marker, DNA methylation has exhibited a valuable perspective in the fields of forensic genetics, especially in cases of paternity identification in duos and discrimination of monozygotic twins, which may be a useful complement to the classic genetics markers, such as short tandem repeats, single nucleotide polymorphism. Various methods for DNA methylation detection have been developed and validated based on methylation sensitive restriction endonuclease, bisulfite modification or methylation-CpG binding domain protein. Methylation-sensitive single nucleotide primer extension, real-time PCR, methylation-specific PCR, methylation-specific multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification and the Illumina's Human Methylation 27 have been all applicable for analyzing identified CpG loci or short sequences, and can be effectively used in forensic laboratory. However, Amplification of Inter-Methylated Sites (AIMS), Hpa II tiny fragment Enrichment by Ligation-mediated PCR (HELP) or Combination of Methylated-DNA Precipitation and Methylation-Sensitive Restriction Enzymes (COMPARE-MS) are useful in genome wide methylation scanning to find new CpG loci which may be valuable in forensic fields.