Chromatin Protocols

Yoder, Sean J, Sean J. Yoder

Although the ChIP-sequencing has gained significant attraction recently, ChIP analysis using microarrays is still an attractive option due to the low cost, ease of analysis, and access to legacy and public data sets. The analysis of ChIP-Chip data entails a multistep approach that requires several different applications to progress from the initial stages of raw data analysis to the identification and characterization of ChIP binding sites. There are multiple approaches to data analysis and there are several applications available for each stage of the analysis pipeline. Each application must be evaluated for its suitability for the particular experiment as well as the investigator's background with computational tools. This chapter is a review of the commonly available applications for Affymetrix ChIP-Chip data analysis, as well as the general workflow of a ChIP-Chip analysis approach. The purpose of the chapter is to allow the researcher to better select the appropriate applications and provide them with the direction necessary to proceed with a ChIP-Chip analysis.