Epigenetic Genes

Epigenetics refers to external modifications to DNA that turn genes on or off. These alterations do not change the DNA sequence, but instead, they affect how cells read genes. One common example of an epigenetic change is DNA methylation. DNA methylation is the addition of a methyl group to part of the DNA molecule which prevents certain genes from being expressed. It should be noted that epigenetics is a fairly new subdivision in genetics and its importance in evolution and heritability is currently being developed and debated (Furrow 2011).

Define Epigenetics  Epigenetics is the study of chemical reactions and factors that influence the reactions controlling growth and development of an organism to be activated or deactivated in specific locations of genome at specific times.

Do the experiences or events that your parents, grandparents or even great grandparents had in the past affect your genes? Why do some humans have mental health issues and others do not? Behavioral epigenetics examines how nurture shapes nature, where nature refers to biological heredity and nurture refers to everything that occurs during the animal 's lifespan. Epigenetics is the study of alterations in an organism caused by modifications of gene expressions instead of alterations of the genetic code itself. Behavioral epigenetics is the field of study, which analyzes the role epigenetics have in shaping human or animal behavior. Epigenetics works by wrapping DNA around histone octamers to form nucleosomes. Genes will be transcribed or silenced depending on the spacing of nucleosomes, which is determined by complex processes, including post-translational modification of DNA and histones as well as the large numbers of chromatin regulatory proteins recruited to interact with these modifications (Nestler). Behavioral epigenetics explains why humans and animals behave the way they do, not by changing the DNA, but by modification of gene expression rather than alteration of the genetic code, which in turn changes behavior in multiple generations.

I took a semester off in the Spring of 2012 and 2013. In 2012, I helped care for my grandfather, who suffered from lung cancer and passed away that April. During my time off, I volunteered in the pediatric department of the hospital where he was staying. The inoperable nature of his cancer spurred me to shadow Dr Cheng, a radiation oncologist. In 2013, my mother was told that she might have breast cancer. With my father working in China, I took time off to be with her. I decided to transfer schools because Columbia dramatically decreased my financial aid for the upcoming year, while Brandeis offered me a full scholarship. With my mother’s health issues, I did not want to further burden her financially. I shadowed Dr Anderson, a pediatric geneticist at UT Genetic Center and validated a plasma cell enrichment procedure for the diagnosis of Multiple Myeloma.

Epigenetics is the study of reactions that switch part of the genome at specific locations and time, and what factors influence them. A cell has a sum of signals that help on stabilizing the gene expression; these are epigenetics tags that are accumulated through cell development. While for decades scientists thought the new embryo’s epigenome was made from scratch it is now know that parents’ epigenetic tags play an important role in the life of the new creature. Most of the epigenetic tags are erased during the process of development in a process called “reprogramming” leaving the majority of the cell in a blank state though a few genes make it through the process without successful removal of the tags.

There is a concept in science that has been taught since the beginning of genetics. The genome lays down the blue prints for most all of a person’s physical features, but an embryo is a blank slate. Its epigenome doesn’t carry anything down from the parents. What’s not being taught today is that this information isn’t completely true. The epigenome carries epigenetic tags of past experiences, which can be passed down to future generations. The University of Utah Health Sciences Department gives a simple version of the definition of epigenetics, “As an organism grows and develops, carefully orchestrated chemical reactions activate and deactivate parts of the genome at strategic times and in specific locations. Epigenetics is the study of these chemical reactions and the factors that influence them.” There is no modification to the DNA sequence, rather the way cells read the genes is changed. Epigenetic tags are turned on and off based on signals from the environment, which is important to help us adapt to the environment around us and to form new memories. Because the body is made up mostly of differentiated cells, there is plenty of room for change depending on the stimulus in early development through old age.

Epigenetics shows the way that the gene is used when it is passed on, instead of looking at the way a specific DNA sequence is passed on from generations. Epigenetics is based upon adding or removing small tags of chemical to DNA (British Society for Cell Biology ). The tags are essentially highlighting specific genes with certain information that determines whether they are turned on or off, the chemical tag is know as methyl group containing the letters A, G, C, T that represent the gene makeup in DNA. The arrangement of methyl groups can either change over the course of a lifetime, or affect and individual permanently during embryo development, this is determined by a number of factors that could disrupt the distribution of the groups (British Society for Cell Biology). As we all know, every individual inherits one copy of the gene pair from their mother, and second from their father. However, in the case of genomic imprinting it is different, because while the individual still receives one copy from their parent the other copy is silenced. In humans and mice, there are about 80 imprinted genes which relate to growth and the placenta (British Society for Cell Biology). In most cases, epigenetics is not passed down from generation to generation, and when it rarely does, it only lasts a

What is Epigenetics? It is the study of heritable changes in gene expression that do not involve changes to the DNA sequence. Epigenetics is the change in phenotype without a change in genotype, which in turn affects how cells read genes. Its change can be influenced by several factors including age, the environment or lifestyle, and disease state. Epigenetic can also have damaging affects that can result in diseases like cancer. The results show that changes will occur to the function and/or regulation of these molecules, without altering their primary sequences. Epigenetics modifications are stable and passed on to future generations and they are dynamic and change in response to environmental stimuli.

DNA is a molecule which is inherited and contains the genetic instructions for the growth, development, reproduction and functions of all living things. Genes are made up of DNA and have instructions on have to make protein that carry out functions in a cell. Each human has about 20,000 to 25,000 genes (“What is a gene?,” 2017). However, your genes may not be expressed at all times. Different genes may be off or on at a certain time. The epigenome is a series of chemical modifications to DNA which determine which genes are read and how often. Epigenetics are the DNA modifications that don’t change the gene expression; however, change gene activity (“What is epigenetics?,” 2017). Stress, diet and exercise all control which genes are expressed or “on”.

The deadly disease of IPF is one the major frontiers that medical science has had a hard time tackling. The complex genetic and matrix nature of IPF makes it even harder to pinpoint the true cradle of this menace. As mentioned above, there are multiple genes and epigenetic factors that tend to express differently in IPF patients. While MUC5B has been found out to be the gene associated with IPF, only 38% patients with IPF have been found to be associated with it. Though the current research is not very well defined, epigenetic factors like smoking and gastrointestinal issues have been shown to be a possible cause of IPF. In relation to this the idea of epigenetic inheritance needs to be studied further in detail. If it can be identified that

Life experiences leave indelible epigenetic marks and consequently determine behaviour. Epigenetic mechanisms mediate the long-term effects of experience and exposure on behaviour and mental health. All examples cited above demonstrate that epigenetic modifications play a vital role in nervous system development, function, and gene regulation. These functions require stage specific and orchestrated gene expression for their proper progress. However, diverse studies into the possible role of epigenetics in the nervous system have revealed that they play a pivotal role in even more complex and ununderstood processes including memory and cognition and disorders such as anxiety, depression, trauma, autism and schizophrenia; for this reason epigenetic

The penchant for analytical thinking and the scientific system was prevalent in my upbringing, a by-product of being born to two scientists. Therefore, when I began working on epigenetic research on Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy (FSHD) at Saint Louis University, I felt comfortable around the slow, systematic approach studded with jargon heavy language. I was excited to experience molecular biology, to work in the same kind of labs I’d visited as a child. When I applied to the job, FSHD was words linked to the epigenetic status of the D4Z4 sequence. In other words an abstract concept. That was the extent of my understanding until I met a 13 year old FSHD patient. If epigenetic changes are the result of environmental factors or

factors that cause certain genes to be switched on and off, effecting how genes are expressed. Epigenetics focuses on how the genome is read as genetics focuses on the mutations. The environment is not the only thing that can affect the genome an individual lifestyle can interact directly with the genome and influence an epigenetic change. Different changes can be reflected during different stages of an individual’s life or may take place years later in future generations. The regulation of epigenetics involves the modification of DNA and associated proteins, changing the conformation of DNA without changing the sequence of DNA.

Epigenetics is what silences genes that are not necessary in a certain cell and it explains how genes are influenced by peoples experiences, environments and other life factors. Starting from the embryo cells will divide and some are activated and some are inhibited. This is what epigenetics is for, it allows certain genes to be active or inactive. The presence and concentration makes things different, for instance twins who are born with identical DNA, have epigenomes that diverge making them different from one another. This will effect the way twins age, their susceptibility to disease, even social experiences can influence their epigenetics. We also have to understand that these epigenetic changes can survive cell division, so it can effect

But this is very large, so often, only the exome is sequenced; the parts of the genome that can be transcribed into messenger RNA, and therefore encodes proteins. Sometimes, the changes are not in the actual sequence of the DNA. Some of the letters are marked by the addition of a special chemical and these marks change how a cell sees these sequences. Therefore, these marks can change which proteins are made in which cells. The entire collection of chemical marks on your DNA is called the epigenome. Scientists now have ways of finding the areas of the genome that have these marks. They can use these methods to find out when the DNA of a cancer cell has more or less of these marks, or has them in different places, than the DNA of a normal cell to detect the presence of cancer.