ChIP-seq for the Identification of Functional Elements in the Human Genome.

Functional elements in the genome express their function through physical association with particular proteins: transcription factors, components of the transcription machinery, specific histone modifications, and others. The genome-wide characterization of the protein-DNA interaction landscape of these proteins is thus a key approach toward the identification of candidate genomic regulatory regions. ChIP-seq (Chromatin Immunoprecipitation coupled with high-throughput sequencing) has emerged as the primary experimental methods for carrying out this task. Here, the ChIP-seq protocol is described together with some of the most important considerations for applying it in practice.