Meeting Abstract
Ancient DNA researchers recently discovered that historic and ancient tissues retain in vivo patterns of DNA methylation, suggesting that such marks could be used to infer epigenetic variation in past populations and study how epigenetic effects change over time. We extend this approach to traditionally-prepared museum specimens. We present a novel method for characterizing genome-wide cytosine methylation at base-pair resolution (double digest RADseq combined with bisulfite treatment). We use this method to characterize methylation patterns over the course of a Great Lakes-area range expansion in the white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) and a non range-expanding, sympatric congener, the woodland deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus). Using specimens collected over the past 80 years, we describe spatial and temporal trends in global and locus-specific cytosine methylation. We explore these results and discuss the challenges and future directions of epigenetics research using museum specimens.
