MACON: a web tool for computing DNA methylation data obtained by the Illumina Infinium Human DNA methylation...

Area of Science:

• Epigenetics
• Bioinformatics
• Genomics

Background:

• DNA methylation analysis using Illumina Infinium Human DNA methylation BeadArray is crucial for epigenomic research.
• Experimental researchers often face challenges with the complex bioinformatics analysis required for BeadArray data.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a user-friendly, browser-accessible bioinformatics tool for analyzing Illumina Infinium Human DNA methylation BeadArray data.
• To simplify the identification of methylated and unmethylated regions.

Main Methods:

• Developed an analytical pipeline using R, Perl, and Python.
• Implemented a method to group neighboring probes into genomic blocks for efficient analysis.
• Integrated probe filtering, normalization, block grouping, annotation, and data subset production.

Main Results:

• The developed tool, MACON, offers comprehensive analysis capabilities including probe filtering and normalization.
• A novel method for grouping probes into genomic blocks facilitates the identification of densely methylated/unmethylated regions.
• MACON successfully processes and annotates BeadArray data, producing relevant data subsets.

Conclusions:

• MACON provides a simplified, web-based solution for analyzing Illumina Infinium Human DNA methylation BeadArray data.
• The tool enhances accessibility for researchers, enabling efficient identification of methylation patterns.
• Researchers can access and utilize MACON via a web browser at http://epigenome.ncc.go.jp/macon.