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...

Tumorigenesis, in general, is originated from two types of gene alterations, a tumor suppressor gene and a proto-oncogene/oncogene. A tumor suppressor gene, or anti-oncogene, is a gene that protects a cell from tumorigenesis. When this gene mutates, it causes a loss or reduction in its protection[1]. A proto-oncogene is a normal gene coding proteins which regulate cell growth and differentiatio...

Introduction Epigenetic changes in gene expression have fascinated scientists over several decades. These processes have received particular attention in plants, where they can result in beautiful variations in conspicuous phenotypes such as pigmentation. Epigenetic control is also a key issue in the development of transgenic plants with appropriate expression from newly introduced transgene se...

The regulation of gene expression through epigenetic modifications provides a dynamic route through which environmental experiences can lead to persistent changes in cellular phenotype. This plasticity plays an important role in mediating cellular differentiation and the potential stability of these modifications can lead to persistent and heritable variations in gene expression. Environmentall...

The field of cancer epigenetics is evolving rapidly on several fronts. Advances in our understanding of chromatin structure, histone modification, transcriptional activity and DNA methylation have resulted in an increasingly integrated view of epigenetics. In response to these insights, epigenetic therapy is expanding to include combinations of histone deacetylase inhibitors and DNA methyltrans...

Since Hippocrates’ axiom in 370 BC, “Thy food shall be thy medicine”, the relationship between food, health and quality of life has been a concern of the scientific health care community. Of course, the boundary between medical (therapeutic) and normal nutrition changes regularly, with many opinions articulated in both the scientific community and the general population. Opinions vary from evid...

OBJECTIVE The interest in asthma epigenetics is high because epigenetic mechanisms likely contribute to the environmental origins of the disease and its phenotypic variability. This review presents the main findings of asthma epigenetics and the challenges that still delay progress. DATA SOURCES We examined the current literature on asthma epigenetics (31 reviews and 25 original data publicat...

BACKGROUND Epigenetics is changing the widely accepted linear conception of genome function by explaining how environmental and psychological factors regulate the activity of our genome without involving changes in the DNA sequence. Research has identified epigenetic mechanisms mediating between environmental and psychological factors that contribute to normal and abnormal behavioral developmen...