Conrad Waddington and the origin of epigenetics

Conrad Waddington and the origin of epigenetics.

Denis Noble discusses Conrad Waddington's classic paper, "The genetic assimilation of the bithorax phenotype", published in Evolution in 1956.

Waddington, Dynamic Systems, and Epigenetics

Waddington coined the term "epigenetic" to attempt to explain the complex, dynamic interactions between the developmental environment and the genome that led to the production of phenotype. Waddington's thoughts on the importance of both adaptability and canalization of phenotypic development are worth recalling as well, as they emphasize the available range for epigenetic action and the import...

Organisers and Genes (1940), by Conrad Hal Waddington

Conrad Hal Waddington?s Organisers and Genes [4], published in 1940, is a summary of available research and theoretical framework for many concepts related to tissue differentiation [5] in the developing embryo. The book is composed of two main conceptual sections. The first section explores the action and nature of the organizer [6], while the second section delves into genes [7] and their inf...

Conrad Hal Waddington, 8 November 1905--26 September 1975.

Drawing a Waddington landscape to capture dynamic epigenetics.

Epigenetics is most often reduced to chromatin marking in the current literature, whereas this notion was initially defined in a more general context. This restricted view ignores that epigenetic memories are in fact more robustly ensured in living systems by steady-state mechanisms with permanent molecule renewal. This misconception is likely to result from misleading intuitions and insufficie...