In biology, epigenetics is the study of stable changes in cell function (known as marks) that do not involve alterations in the DNA sequence. The Greek prefix epi- (ἐπι- "over, outside of, around") in epigenetics implies features that are "on top of" or "in addition to" the traditional genetic basis for inheritance. Epigenetics most often involves changes that affect the regulation of gene expression, and that persist through cellular division. Such effects on cellular and physiological phenotypic traits may result from external or environmental factors, or be part of normal development. It can also lead to diseases such as cancer.
The term also refers to the mechanism of changes: functionally relevant alterations to the genome that do not involve mutation of the nucleotide sequence. Examples of mechanisms that produce such changes are DNA methylation and histone modification, each of which alters how genes are expressed without altering the underlying DNA sequence. Further, non-coding RNA sequences have shown to play a key role in the regulation of gene expression. Gene expression can be controlled through the action of repressor proteins that attach to silencer regions of the DNA. These epigenetic changes may last through cell divisions for the duration of the cell's life, and may also last for multiple generations, even though they do not involve changes in the underlying DNA sequence of the organism; instead, non-genetic factors cause the organism's genes to behave (or "express themselves") differently.
One example of an epigenetic change in eukaryotic biology is the process of cellular differentiation. During morphogenesis, totipotent stem cells become the various pluripotent cell lines of the embryo, which in turn become fully differentiated cells. In other words, as a single fertilized egg cell – the zygote – continues to divide, the resulting daughter cells change into all the different cell types in an organism, including neurons, muscle cells, epithelium, endothelium of blood vessels, etc.
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The goal of the course is to guide students through the essential aspects of molecular neuroscience and neurodegenerative diseases. The student will gain the ability to dissect the molecular basis of
This course covers various data analysis approaches associated with applications of DNA sequencing technologies, from genome sequencing to quantifying gene expression, transcription factor binding and
This course will provide the fundamental knowledge in neuroscience required to
understand how the brain is organised and how function at multiple scales is
integrated to give rise to cognition and beh
Genomic imprinting is an epigenetic phenomenon that causes genes to be expressed or not, depending on whether they are inherited from the mother or the father. Genes can also be partially imprinted. Partial imprinting occurs when alleles from both parents are differently expressed rather than complete expression and complete suppression of one parent's allele. Forms of genomic imprinting have been demonstrated in fungi, plants and animals. In 2014, there were about 150 imprinted genes known in mice and about half that in humans.
In biology, epigenetics is the study of stable changes in cell function (known as marks) that do not involve alterations in the DNA sequence. The Greek prefix epi- (ἐπι- "over, outside of, around") in epigenetics implies features that are "on top of" or "in addition to" the traditional genetic basis for inheritance. Epigenetics most often involves changes that affect the regulation of gene expression, and that persist through cellular division.
In biology, the word gene (from γένος, génos; meaning generation or birth or gender) can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity and the molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protein-coding genes and noncoding genes. During gene expression, the DNA is first copied into RNA. The RNA can be directly functional or be the intermediate template for a protein that performs a function.
Explores neuroepigenetics, focusing on chromatin structure, regulation, and epigenetic inheritance in neurodevelopment.
Delves into neuroepigenetics, covering chromatin structure, histone modifications, DNA methylation, and their impact on gene transcription and inheritance.
Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide. Cancer develops through multiple hallmark functions including apoptosis evasion, unlimited replicative potential, metastasis, and immune avoidanc
EPFL2022
Difficulties to replicate telomeres - the ends of our chromosomes - can cause telomere shortening andgenome instability. These difficulties are due to the repetitive DNA sequence and distinct structur