Epigenetic Modifications on Histones

The most compelling piece of information that I read from the article "Epigenetics: Its What Turns You On...and Off" (Schardt, 2013) is how children born from the same mother, before gastric bypass surgery and after the surgery, had different patterns of epigenetic marks than their siblings. It would not have crossed my mind that being overweight would actually have an affect on your genes, that could be passed down to your offspring. Researchers have also reported that the gene IGF2 was more turned on in those born to obese fathers, which might increase the risk of becoming overweight in adulthood (Schardt, 2013). So they chances that a child becomes overweight is on both parents and not just one.

Thesis: Individuals that have experienced traumatic events or are put into high stress environments are prone to having their epigenetics modified which can be passed down to offspring. The altered genes can induce people to becoming much more vulnerable to depression and anxiety as a result. While there isn't a way to “cure” intergenerational trauma there are ways to cope with it.

It can turn certain genes on or off by tightly wrapping the structure of the gene making it unreadable and inactive. If it is making a gene active, it simply relaxes the genes structure making them available to read. In further detail, the epigenome alters genetic coding by using the epigenetic tags, or chemical tags, which respond to signals transferred by proteins, ultimately taken to a gene regulatory protein which attaches itself to a certain gene. There are many types of epigenetic tags that make genes effective or not. An example of a tag that turns off genes are Methyl tags. They are attached to a CG base pair, cytosine and guanine, where they block transcription machinery, such as RNA Polymerase, from binding to the DNA. Another way of silencing a gene is by gathering proteins that can bind to DNA with the methyl tags, to then block the transcription machinery. Acetyl tags are an example of tag that turns a gene on. They loosen the Dna from the histone to allow easy access. The acetyl tags are added to lysine, an amino acid, on the tails of histones. Acetyl tgs are just one of the tags that form a histone code, others include methyl, phosphoryl, ubiquitin, SUMO, and

As of late there has been more of a focus on the Epigenetics component of mental illness.

Epigenetics is a field where advances are being made daily. Epigenetics is defined as “heritable changes in gene expression that occur without a change in DNA sequence,” as stated by Dr. Alan Wolffe. A way in which we can understand this definition is by taking the analogy of a card game. The cards, the DNA sequence, have been dealt and will not change, however we need to understand how to play the cards, the rules, which is epigenetics. The guidelines can vary and completely change the way the card game is played and who comes out on top. The rules that are studied and understood through this research paper are those of DNA methylation and chromatin. These changes can produce

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.

What is epigenetics? Epigenetics to me is the alteration to our genome that we are able to change in not only ourselves but in our children and future generations as well all based on lifestyle habits we live today. After first watching the PBS video on epigenetics, I was astonished on how our ways of life have such a profound effect upon not only our genes but our future generations of children as well. In the video research was conducted on over forty identical twins ages ranging from three to seventy-four, this was to compare the lifestyle habits such as smoking, exercise, and different diets have on an individual. I found it fascinating that when there was comparing the genomes of the elderly Spanish twins compared to the three-year-olds; we were able to see how much of a difference the Spanish twins genome

For years, scientists believed DNA, deoxyribonucleic acid, was the end-all-be-all: a mould for our cells to be created from. Which does not sound far-fetched since DNA contains all of the information needed for replication, differentiation, growth, and development, in addition to the countless cellular fates, as described in Waddington’s landscape. Instead, DNA is a guide for our cells, and Epigenetics is the tool that coerces them into their final cellular form. The Epigenetics Revolution: How Modern Biology Is Rewriting Our Understanding of Genetics, Disease, and Inheritance written by Nessa Carey, outlines the process of DNA versus Epigenetics, and the developments they have had within the scientific field. This paper will examine the fundamental distinction constructed by Nessa Carey between DNA as a script versus a template. This analogy of DNA as a script.

The development and importance of epigenetics has revealed to the world the explanation of many gene expressing mutations also factors that may account for genetic variation. The result of this observation helped many scientists around the world cures as well as new analysis methods to help survivors .The understanding obtained from the discovery of epigenetics has and will continue to inform ways of preventing and manipulating genetic expressions to our advantage throughout these upcoming generations. Throughout this essay response, the following information will cover the focus on how epigenetics can account for genetic variability in organisms, it will also relate to factors

Epigenetics is the study of heritable modifications of your genes being expressed that are not manipulated by mutations in the DNA but by environmental factors. The increasing of inhibiting of transcribing genes is caused by epigenetic changes. The cells in the DNA are packaged together by proteins which are known as histones. DNA is wrapped around the protein (histones). Histone proteins and DNA are tagged chemically which alter gene expression. To impede DNA, DNA methylation is when a methyl group is added consisting of hydrogen and carbon molecules, which are used to limit gene expression. DNA methylation and Histone modification is most commonly known as an epigenetic modification. Epigenetic modifications are a long-term change in, which

When chemical tags are labeled the modifications are called epigenetic modification. These can be classified as modifications that take place on or above the genes. Epigenetic modification permits lasting changes in gene expression. Epigenetics studies the changes in gene expression or development caused by mechanisms other than changes in the primary DNA sequence. Epigenetics demonstrates how DNA interacts with the multitude of smaller molecules found within cells which can activate and deactivate cells. Epigenetics can be highly based off of nature versus nurture. Epigenetic changes are a part of normal development. As genes are activated some are

Epigenetics studies those chemical reactions that trigger activation or deactivation of genomoe, and then the study of those chemical reactions and their impact on genome can help to uncover how various chemical reactions influence cell mutations. For example, focusing on risk factors and main driving forces of the development of cancer, scientists can develop new remedies and methods of treatment of cancer that minimize the impact of risk factors and drivers causing the disease. Jablonka & Lamb (1995) noted that general organization of epigenetic system, being passed from ancestors to descendants, forms the body in the course of its individual development, while selection leads to stabilization of a number of successive ontogenesis, eliminating deviations from the norm (morphosis), and forming a sustainable path of development

Methylation is the process where methyl groups are attached to the sequence of DNA code letter and to the histone groups that the DNA encircle; whereas, acetylation is the process where acetyl groups are attached to the histone tails. The methylation decreases gene expression while the acetylation increases gene expression. Epigenetic inheritance mentions in the article supports the content that we cover in class, in which epigenetic inheritance means modification to DNA other than sequence that can be altered by environment or diet and can be passed on to next

One of the hallmark alterations during the carcinogenic process is a profound deregulation the intracellular metabolism and exposure to carcinogenic agents greatly contributes to this deregulation. The proper functioning of many chromatin-modifying enzymes, in particular, and epigenetic processes, in general, depends greatly on cofactors or cosubstrates generated by cellular metabolism. This tightly links a number of intracellular metabolic and epigenome and, therefore, altered intracellular metabolism, especially tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA cycle; Krebs cycle), one carbon, lipid, and iron metabolic pathways, induced by carcinogen exposure can cause a variety of epigenetic abnormalities

Figure 4. Overview of possible epigenetic modifications. These epigenetic modifications can all influence the accessibility of the chromatin structure to the transcriptional machinery. This image was taken from a previous publication (Gräff et al., 2011).