Wolf Reik: Inheritance beyond DNA

F or all it has given to science, Mendelian genetics is now a sim-plistic view of inheritance. On top of the DNA code lies another genetic " language, " the epigenetic code. Wolf Reik has built a career of decoding this language. Reik jumped on the now crowded epigenetic bandwagon when it was in its infancy, during both his PhD with Rudolf Jaenisch in Germany and his postdoc with Azim Surani in the UK. At the Babraham Institute, where he's been for 15 years now, Reik has delved into the molecular aspects of epigenetics and its role in imprinting (1)—the developmental control of gene expression based on a gene's maternal vs. paternal origin. His group has discovered that imprinting is controlled both by noncoding RNAs (2) and by the three-dimensional arrangement of chromatin (3). Along the way, Reik and colleagues have uncovered functions for imprinted genes in fetal growth (4). The Reik laboratory is now examining developmental changes in epigenetic marks as cell fates are established (5). They are also interested in how the widespread erasure of epi-genetic information may help reset pluripotency in germ cells or in the zygote, for example (6). In a recent conversation , Reik confessed to daydreams of a clinical practice while he focuses on the basic mechanisms behind epige-netic reprogramming. That reverie, he explains, is sated by collaborative projects that bring together his molecular studies and epigenetics-related human disorders. How did you end up in a scientifi c career? I guess partly because both of my parents are scientists. [laughs] We were exposed to a scientifi c kind of thinking throughout our lives. As a teenager I was interested in many different things, including literature and music. Studying medicine at that time kept a number of my options open. At university in Germany, I did several clinical stints, which I really enjoyed. I also worked in a country hospital in Brazil, which was both interesting and rewarding. It showed me that you can really help people even with quite limited technology. How, then, did you come to pursue research rather than a clinical practice? It was always lurking in the back of my mind that I might enjoy research. Then I went to a seminar by Rudolf Jaenisch; he's a very good speaker, and he can enthuse people. I thought, " Wow, there's a world there that I don't know about. " The next …