Table of contents
January 2008 Vol 9 No 1
From the Editors
p1 | doi:10.1038/nrg2291
Research Highlights
Epigenetics: Helping cells to remember | PDF (233 KB)
p2 | doi:10.1038/nrg2298
Epigenetics: Silence of the nucleosomes | PDF (200 KB)
p3 | doi:10.1038/nrg2288
Gene expression: One allele or two? | PDF (171 KB)
p4 | doi:10.1038/nrg2287
In brief
Complex traits | Functional genomics | Model organisms | Genomics | PDF (153 KB)
p4 | doi:10.1038/nrg2289
Gene regulation: One cell, one smell | PDF (160 KB)
p4 | doi:10.1038/nrg2300
In brief
Genomics | Epigenetics | RNA world | Development | PDF (146 KB)
p4 | doi:10.1038/nrg2301
RNA world: A radical rearrangement | PDF (172 KB)
p5 | doi:10.1038/nrg2292
RNA world: Making sense of antisense | PDF (181 KB)
p6 | doi:10.1038/nrg2294
Imprinting: Human genome gets full marks | PDF (213 KB)
p6 | doi:10.1038/nrg2297
Developmental biology: Retinoic acid passes the morphogen test | PDF (244 KB)
p7 | doi:10.1038/nrg2293
Ageing: The ups and downs of ageing | PDF (184 KB)
p8 | doi:10.1038/nrg2296
In the news
All change in the stem-cell field | PDF (123 KB)
p8 | doi:10.1038/nrg2299
Progress
New links to the pathogenesis of Crohn disease provided by genome-wide association scans
Christopher G. Mathew
p9 | doi:10.1038/nrg2203
Studies of Crohn disease have benefited spectacularly from genome-wide association scans. Newly identified susceptibility loci support previously suspected underlying pathways, but also reveal hitherto unexpected putative mechanisms of this disease.
Reviews
Nucleosome destabilization in the epigenetic regulation of gene expression
Steven Henikoff
p15 | doi:10.1038/nrg2206
Accumulating evidence suggests that the regulated turnover of nucleosomes is key to the epigenetic regulation of eukaryotic gene expression. This insight has important implications for understanding the functional importance of histone modifications and the incorporation of histone variants into chromatin.
Finding a match: how do homologous sequences get together for recombination?
Adi Barzel & Martin Kupiec
p27 | doi:10.1038/nrg2224
A detailed picture of the mechanism of homologous recombination has been gathered over the years, but deciphering how homologues get together in the first place has been far more elusive. The authors examine various scenarios for how this might occur.
Coupling and coordination in gene expression processes: a systems biology view
Suzanne Komili & Pamela A. Silver
p38 | doi:10.1038/nrg2223
Genome-wide approaches have extended our understanding of known coupling and coordination mechanisms among eukaryotic gene regulatory processes, and they are revealing previously unknown interconnectivities. These findings are providing new insights into how cells generate coordinated, flexible and sensitive gene-expression responses.
The multifaceted role of Notch in cardiac development and disease
Frances A. High & Jonathan A. Epstein
p49 | doi:10.1038/nrg2279
The highly conserved Notch signalling pathway functions at several stages in heart development. The involvement of Notch in development and in congenital and adult cardiovascular disorders is being elucidated through the use of genetic and molecular analyses in animal models.
Steady progress and recent breakthroughs in the accuracy of automated genome annotation
Michael R. Brent
p62 | doi:10.1038/nrg2220
Although genome sequencing has become a routine task, genome annotation remains a complicated business. New computational methods, in combination with experimental methods, are bringing us closer to describing the ORF structure of every gene in every genome.
Perspective
Opinion
Is evolvability evolvable?
Massimo Pigliucci
p75 | doi:10.1038/nrg2278
The ability to evolve — evolvability — is important in determining the course of evolution. But does evolvability itself evolve, and how should we even agree on a definition of evolvability?