(5/8)🔬Importantly, we show that these methylation-dependent binding patterns also happen in living cells—not just on the microfluidic chip! This means our findings have potential functional relevance in real biological contexts.

(4/8) 📊 With meSMiLE-seq, we found alternative binding motifs for dozens of TFs! Some motifs only bind methylated DNA, while others avoid it. This methylation-dependent behavior adds a new layer to our understanding of TF function.

(3/8)👨‍🔬Our study analyzed nearly 300 proteins using SMiLE-seq and 114 using meSMiLE-seq. It’s now the primary reference for SMiLE-seq data in the Codebook/GRECO-BiT collection, covering a wide range of poorly characterized TFs.

(2/8)🔍Why meSMiLE-seq? The collaboration mainly focuses TF binding to unmodified DNA. We wondered if some uncharacterized TFs specifically interact with DNA modifications. With meSMiLE-seq, we directly compare TF binding to methylated vs. unmethylated DNA in a single selection step.