title: Chromas from chromatin: sonification of the epigenome.
abstract: The epigenetic modifications are organized in patterns determining the functional properties of the underlying genome. Such patterns, typically measured by ChIP-seq assays of histone modifications, can be combined and translated into musical scores, summarizing multiple signals into a single waveform. As music is recognized as a universal way to convey meaningful information, we wanted to investigate properties of music obtained by sonification of ChIP-seq data. We show that the music produced by such quantitative signals is perceived by human listeners as more pleasant than that produced from randomized signals. Moreover, the waveform can be analyzed to predict phenotypic properties, such as differential gene expression.
authors.affiliation: Center for Translational Genomics and Bioinformatics, San Raffaele Hospital- via olgettina 58, 20138 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Davide
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cittaro
authors.affiliation: Center for Translational Genomics and Bioinformatics, San Raffaele Hospital- via olgettina 58, 20138 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Dejan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lazarevic
authors.affiliation: Center for Translational Genomics and Bioinformatics, San Raffaele Hospital- via olgettina 58, 20138 Milano, Italy; Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Life Sciences, University of Turin - via Nizza 52, 10126 Torino, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Provero
keywords: Chromatin; Epigenomics; Information; Music; Sonification