Epigenetics, cellular memory and gene regulation

Epigenetics, cellular memory and gene regulation

The field described as 'epigenetics' has captured the imagination of scientists and the lay public. Advances in our understanding of chromatin and gene regulatory mechanisms have had impact on drug development, fueling excitement in the lay public about the prospects of applying this knowledge to address health issues. However, when describing these scientific advances as 'epigenetic', we encou...

Epigenetics: Regulation of Gene Expression

Livestock genetics is currently navigating through a genomic era promoted by advances in DNA technologies. There is however a promising field that has not yet been tackled in livestock breeding and genetics: Epigenetics. Epigenetics is the study of heritable changes in gene expression and other genomic functions without altering the underlying “DNA” sequence. Epigenetics introduces a level of g...

Chromatin and Gene Regulation Mechanisms in Epigenetics

Small but sturdy: small RNAs in cellular memory and epigenetics.

Cells in multicellular organisms have distinct identities characterized by their profiles of expressed genes. Cell identities can be stable over a long time and through multiple cellular divisions but are also responsive to extracellular signals. Since the DNA sequence is identical in all cells, a "cellular memory" of expression profiles is achieved by what are defined as epigenetic mechanisms....

Epigenetics and Cellular Metabolism

Living eukaryotic systems evolve delicate cellular mechanisms for responding to various environmental signals. Among them, epigenetic machinery (DNA methylation, histone modifications, microRNAs, etc.) is the hub in transducing external stimuli into transcriptional response. Emerging evidence reveals the concept that epigenetic signatures are essential for the proper maintenance of cellular met...