The fundamental roles of epigenetics in genome regulation make an understanding of mechanisms such as DNA methylation and histone modification an essential goal, both for basic and applied research. This web focus accompanies a special issue of Nature Reviews Genetics that explores a diverse range of areas in which an increased knowledge of epigenetics is having an impact.
The topics covered range from basic research in chromosome biology and gene regulation, to stem cell research, environmental epigenetics and cancer epigenomics, where exploring the role of epigenetics has the potential to lead to clinical advances. The accompanying library collects the most relevant recent publications from across Nature Publishing Group.
Research Highlights
Epigenetics: An eXpanding view of DNA methylation
doi:10.1038/nrg2093
Nature Reviews Genetics 8, 248
Reviews
Environmental epigenomics and disease susceptibility
Randy L. Jirtle and Michael K. Skinner
doi:10.1038/nrg2045
Nature Reviews Genetics 8, 253-262
Epigenetic modifications provide a possible link between the environment and disease-causing alterations in gene expression. Evidence from animal studies increasingly supports this theory, including recent findings of epigenetically mediated transgenerational alterations in phenotype that are caused by environmental exposure.
Epigenetic signatures of stem-cell identity
Mikhail Spivakov and Amanda G. Fisher
doi:10.1038/nrg2046
Nature Reviews Genetics 8, 263-271
How do stem cells keep the genes that drive differentiation in a repressed state, while maintaining the ability to express them in the future? Increasing evidence indicates that distinctive epigenetic traits underlie this unique aspect of stem-cell biology.
Transposable elements and the epigenetic regulation of the genome
R. Keith Slotkin and Robert Martienssen
doi:10.1038/nrg2072
Nature Reviews Genetics 8, 272-285
Cells use a range of increasingly well understood epigenetic mechanisms to keep transposable elements under control. These silencing mechanisms have been co-opted during the course of evolution to contribute to key aspects of chromosome biology and gene regulation.
Cancer epigenomics: DNA methylomes and histone-modification maps
Manel Esteller
doi:10.1038/nrg2005
Nature Reviews Genetics 8, 286-298
Recent technological advances allow epigenetic alterations in cancer to be studied across the whole genome. These approaches are being used to answer key outstanding questions about cancer biology, and to provide new avenues for diagnostics, prognostics and therapy.
The epigenetic regulation of mammalian telomeres
María A. Blasco
doi:10.1038/nrg2047
Nature Reviews Genetics 8, 299-309
Epigenetic modifications are key players in the regulation of fly and yeast telomeres, and recent studies indicate that the same applies in mammalian cells. These findings have implications for our understanding of the roles of telomeres in ageing and cancer.