Overview

Cleavage Under Targets & Release Using Nuclease (CUT & RUN) is a technique used to study protein-DNA interactions with high specificity and sensitivity. It is an important tool for studying the epigenome, chromatin structure, and gene regulation. Compared to ChIP-seq, a traditional method for the study of protein-DNA interaction, CUT&RUN seq is an optimized technique to detect the proteinDNA interactions with significantly reduced background noise and improved resolution.

 

Different from traditional ChIP seq in which crosslinking is used to capture the protein-DNA complexes, CUT&RUN employs a nuclease (usually MNase, micrococcal nuclease) to cleave the DNA at the region where the protein of interest is bound. The cleaved small DNA fragments can be isolated for further analysis (such as sequencing).

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Applications

• Examine gene regulation and analyze transcription factors.

• Investigate specific histone modifications and their roles in chromatin structure and gene expression.

• Analyze DNA methylation, particularly those relative to gene silencing and regulation.

• Broadly used in epigenetic research, especially in chromatin states and regulatory mechanisms.