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Imprinted genes influence a wide range of biological processes, the effects of which extend from prenatal stages to adulthood. This Review discusses the role of imprinted genes, with a focus on postnatal and adult phenotypes, and their contribution to common diseases such as intrauterine growth restriction, obesity, psychiatric disorders and cancer.
The role of telomeric factors as guardians of chromosome ends from threats to genome integrity (such as degradation and inappropriate DNA damage response activation) has long been appreciated. This Review discusses the extratelomeric activity of these factors and how they can regulate the transcription of genes involved in metabolism, immunity and differentiation.
Gene-regulatory DNA elements control complex spatiotemporal patterns of gene expression, and alterations to these sequences are commonly associated with inter-individual phenotypic variation and human disease. This Review discusses our latest understanding of how different layers of information in these sequences control the binding of regulators and influence gene expression outcomes.
A central topic in biology concerns how genotypes determine phenotypes and functions of organisms that affect their evolutionary fitness. This Review discusses recent advances in the development of empirical fitness landscapes and their contribution to theoretical analyses of the predictability of evolution.
In this Opinion article, the authors highlight the potential of genome engineering for the study of evolution and focus on microbial systems. They discuss the prospects and problems of the emerging field of evolutionary genome engineering, and pinpoint how a combination of genome engineering and laboratory evolution can shed light on evolutionary forces.