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The Greek prefix epi-(ἐπι-"over, outside of, around") in epigenetics implies features that are "on top of" or "in addition to" the traditional (DNA sequence based) genetic mechanism of inheritance. [2] Epigenetics usually involves a change that is not erased by cell division, and affects the regulation of gene expression. [3]
Long non-coding RNAs, or lncRNAs, are RNA transcripts produced by RNA polymerase II that are not translated but participate in the regulation of gene expression. Long non-coding RNAs are used in various epigenetic processes in development, including the regulation of Hox genes, as well as in the creation of Barr bodies. [27] [28]
Epigenetics is known to be important in the regulation of gene expression of differentiation. As such, studies done on small molecules or drugs that inhibit epigenetic mechanisms during differentiation can have great potential for clinical applications such as bone regeneration from mesenchymal stem cells. [15]
There are mechanisms by which environmental exposures induce epigenetic changes by affecting regulation and gene expression. Four general categories of epigenetic modification are known. self-sustaining metabolic loops, in which an mRNA or protein product of a gene stimulates transcription of the gene; e.g. Wor1 gene in Candida albicans;
Epigenetic mechanisms. Three important methods of epigenetic regulation include histone modification, DNA methylation and demethylation, and microRNA expression. Histones keep the DNA of the eukaryotic cell tightly packaged through charge interactions between the positive charge on the histone tail and the negative charge of the DNA, as well as between histone tails of nearby nucleosomes.
Gene regulation works using operators and repressors in bacteria. Gene Regulation can be summarized by the response of the respective system: Inducible systems - An inducible system is off unless there is the presence of some molecule (called an inducer) that allows for gene expression. The molecule is said to "induce expression".
[1] [2] Epigenetic modifications are reversible modifications on a cell's DNA or histones that affect gene expression without altering the DNA sequence. [3] Epigenomic maintenance is a continuous process and plays an important role in stability of eukaryotic genomes by taking part in crucial biological mechanisms like DNA repair.
Epigenetic regulation of TSS chromatin has been identified as an important development in the evolution of gene expression networks in the human brain. These networks are thought to play a role in cognitive processes and neurological disorders. [7]