Reduced Representation Bisulfite Sequencing (RRBS) is a targeted sequencing technology tailored for profiling DNA methylation patterns, with a specific focus on CpG islands and other CpG-dense genomic regions in human and animal samples.
Our proprietary RRBS protocol employs the methylation-insensitive restriction enzyme MspI, which selectively cleaves DNA at CpG-rich loci—the primary sites of DNA methylation in mammalian genomes. Following enrichment of these CpG-dense regions, the resulting DNA fragments undergo bisulfite conversion, a key step that deaminates unmethylated cytosine residues into uracil while leaving methylated cytosines chemically unaltered. Subsequent high-throughput sequencing, combined with alignment against the reference genome, enables the accurate determination of cytosine methylation status at single-nucleotide resolution.
As a cost-efficient solution for DNA methylation analysis, RRBS significantly reduces the required sequencing data volume by targeting only biologically relevant regions (e.g., CpG islands), making it ideally suited for large-scale cohort studies. For comprehensive methylation profiling across the entire genome—encompassing both CpG and non-CpG methylation contexts—please refer to our Whole Genome Bisulfite Sequencing (WGBS) service.
