imprinted genes - which parent? - (Dec/19/2007 )

Dear all, how can I study the methylation status of an imprinted gene from a certain parent (mother/father)? How can I distinguish between the two alleles/parents?
any idea is appreciated...
cheers

well if you can find a heterozygous SNP very close to the region you are studying and the parents are homozygous for one allele (paternal) and the other allele (maternal) then bob's your uncle.

This can be rather difficult sometimes as there usually isn't a heterozygous SNP close to the promoter of interest.

The other method is good old southern blotting of methyl-sensitive restriction digests

Nick