Volume 8 Issue 4, April 2007

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. The topics covered in this web focus range from basic research in chromosome biology and gene regulation, to stem cell research, environmental epigenetic and cancer epigenomics, where exploring the role of epigenetics has the potential to lead to clinical advances.