Epigenomics is the study of the complete set of epigenetic modifications on the genetic material of a cell, known as the epigenome. The field is analogous to genomics and proteomics, which are the study of the genome and proteome of a cell. Epigenetic modifications are reversible modifications on a cell's DNA or histones that affect gene expression without altering the DNA sequence. Epigenomic maintenance is a continuous process and plays an important role in stability of eukaryotic genomes by taking part in crucial biological mechanisms like DNA repair. Plant flavones are said to be inhibiting epigenomic marks that cause cancers. Two of the most characterized epigenetic modifications are DNA methylation and histone modification. Epigenetic modifications play an important role in gene expression and regulation, and are involved in numerous cellular processes such as in differentiation/development and tumorigenesis. The study of epigenetics on a global level has been made possible only recently through the adaptation of genomic high-throughput assays.
The mechanisms governing phenotypic plasticity, or the capacity of a cell to change its state in response to stimuli, have long been the subject of research (Phenotypic plasticity 1). The traditional central dogma of biology states that the DNA of a cell is transcribed to RNA, which is translated to proteins, which perform cellular processes and functions. A paradox exists, however, in that cells exhibit diverse responses to varying stimuli and that cells sharing identical sets of DNA such as in multicellular organisms can have a variety of distinct functions and phenotypes. Classical views have attributed phenotypic variation to differences in primary DNA structure, be it through aberrant mutation or an inherited sequence allele. However, while this did explain some aspects of variation, it does not explain how tightly coordinated and regulated cellular responses, such as differentiation, are carried out.
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Systems biology is the computational and mathematical analysis and modeling of complex biological systems. It is a biology-based interdisciplinary field of study that focuses on complex interactions within biological systems, using a holistic approach (holism instead of the more traditional reductionism) to biological research. Particularly from the year 2000 onwards, the concept has been used widely in biology in a variety of contexts.
Metabolomics is the scientific study of chemical processes involving metabolites, the small molecule substrates, intermediates, and products of cell metabolism. Specifically, metabolomics is the "systematic study of the unique chemical fingerprints that specific cellular processes leave behind", the study of their small-molecule metabolite profiles. The metabolome represents the complete set of metabolites in a biological cell, tissue, organ, or organism, which are the end products of cellular processes.
Proteomics is the large-scale study of proteins. Proteins are vital parts of living organisms, with many functions such as the formation of structural fibers of muscle tissue, enzymatic digestion of food, or synthesis and replication of DNA. In addition, other kinds of proteins include antibodies that protect an organism from infection, and hormones that send important signals throughout the body. The proteome is the entire set of proteins produced or modified by an organism or system.
Delves into chromatin regulation's role in memory formation, genetic and epigenetic influences on learning, and the potential of HDAC inhibitors as cognitive enhancers.
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Benchmarking of scATAC-seq protocols demonstrates the effects of data quality on downstream analyses. Single-cell assay for transposase-accessible chromatin by sequencing (scATAC-seq) has emerged as a powerful tool for dissecting regulatory landscapes and ...
NATURE PORTFOLIO2023
Cell fate progression of pluripotent progenitors is strictly regulated, resulting in high human cell diversity. Epigenetic modifications also orchestrate cell fate restriction. Unveiling the epigenetic mechanisms underlying human cell diversity has been di ...
Nature Portfolio2024
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DNA methylation (DNAm) is one of the most frequently studied epigenetic mechanisms facilitating the interplay of genomic and environmental factors, which can contribute to externalizing behaviours and related psychiatric disorders. Previous epigenome-wide ...