Table of contents
April 2007 Vol 8 No 4
From the editors
p245 | doi:10.1038/nrg2090
Research Highlights
Neurogenetics: Genome-wide search for autism loci
p246 | doi:10.1038/nrg2086
Genomic variation: Copy number variation doesn't copy SNPs
p247 | doi:10.1038/nrg2088
In brief
Epigenetics | Technology | Cancer genetics
p247 | doi:10.1038/nrg2096
Epigenetics: An eXpanding view of DNA methylation
p248 | doi:10.1038/nrg2093
Developmental genetics: Transitions with the benefit of Hindsight
p248 | doi:10.1038/nrg2095
Development: Chipping away at developmental networks
p249 | doi:10.1038/nrg2077
Disease genetics: Global association study targets type 2 diabetes
p250 | doi:10.1038/nrg2087
Cancer genomics: Beyond the usual suspects
p250 | doi:10.1038/nrg2092
In brief
Evo–devo | DNA repair | Network biology | Genome evolution
p251 | doi:10.1038/nrg2097
Epigenetics: We are family
p252 | doi:10.1038/nrg2094
Focus on: Epigenetics
Reviews
Environmental epigenomics and disease susceptibility
Randy L. Jirtle and Michael K. Skinner
p253 | doi:10.1038/nrg2045
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
p263 | doi:10.1038/nrg2046
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
p272 | doi:10.1038/nrg2072
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
p286 | doi:10.1038/nrg2005
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
p299 | doi:10.1038/nrg2047
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.
Perspective
Opinion
The choice of model organisms in evo–devo
Ronald A. Jenner and Matthew A. Wills
p311 | doi:10.1038/nrg2062
Evo–devo has inherited its model organisms from developmental biology. New models must now be chosen to study important phenomena that the original models do not represent. The authors discuss the best criteria for choosing new models.
Correspondence
Correspondence: Bridging the regeneration gap: insights from echinoderm models
S. Dupont and M. Thorndyke
| doi:10.1038/nrg1923-c1
Author Reply: Bridging the regeneration gap: insights from echinoderm models
Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado
| doi:10.1038/nrg1923-c2
Correspondence
Correspondence: Treating speciation processes as complex traits
Dan Mishmar and Moran Gershoni
| doi:10.1038/nrg1968-c1