New England Biolabs NEBNext Enzymatic Methyl-seq

New England Biolabs has launched NEBNext Enzymatic Methyl-seq (EM-seq), an enzyme-based method for methylation sequencing that is an alternative to bisulfite sequencing. The EM-seq kit involves a two-step enzymatic conversion that first protects 5-methyl cytosine and 5-hydroxymethyl cytosine from deamination using TET2 and an oxidation enhancer, and then deaminates unmethylated cytosines, converting them to uracil. Because the process does not rely on chemical treatment, as with bisulfite conversion, the DNA is not damaged, according to the company. The kit includes the required reagents for EM-seq conversion and library preparation for sequencing on Illumina instruments.