Low-Input Whole-Genome Bisulfite Sequencing

DNA methylation can regulate gene expression by modulating chromatin accessibility and transcription factor binding on promoter and enhancer regions. Whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) represents the most informative and comprehensive analysis to profile the DNA methylation status of all the cytosines at single-base resolution. However, most of the available protocols recommend an amount of input DNA (50 ng-5μg) that makes the WGBS unsuitable for limited samples and cell populations. In this chapter, we provide complete protocol to perform WGBS libraries from very low-input DNA. This protocol is recommended for the analysis of the whole-genome DNA methylation pattern in rare cell populations, like a defined stem cell population isolated from animal models or human samples.