Epigenetics and Nutrition
نویسنده
چکیده
Epigenetics refers to the study of heritable changes in gene expression that do not depend on the DNA sequence itself. Those changes alter the phenotype without any change in the genotype and can be influenced by several factors. The environment, the way of living, habits, age, parental nutritional state during gestation and others are amongst the major factors influencing chromatin remodeling. In eukaryotes, the DNA is organized around histone proteins to form chromatin fibers. Chromatin undergoes substantial changes during cell cycle from extremely compacted, during mitosis, to stages when individual chromosomes are not visible and the chromatin appears diffuse and unorganized. Condensed chromatin is associated with transcriptional inactivity, while diffuse and relaxed chromatin fibers are correlated with active transcription. Chromatin condensation affects the accessibility of the DNA to transcription factors and other regulators preventing transcriptional activity. Epigenetic modifications controlling chromatin condensation include DNA methylation, histone modifications, alterations of chromatin structure due to chromatin remodeling and noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) [1]. The acquired epigenetic changes can be inherited during cell division and result in a permanent change, maintained in the cell lineage [2].
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تاریخ انتشار 2018