Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Epigenetic mechanisms. In biology, epigenetics is the study of heritable traits, or a stable change of cell function, that happen without changes to the DNA sequence. [1] 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]
DNA damages cause changes in the structure of the genetic material and prevents the replication mechanism from functioning and performing properly. [1] The DNA damage response (DDR) is a complex signal transduction pathway which recognizes when DNA is damaged and initiates the cellular response to the damage. [2]
Accordingly, transcriptional repression of DNMT1 in response to long-term stress-mimicking exposure causes decreased DNA methylation, which is a marker of gene activation. In particular, there is decreased methylation of a gene called fkbp5, which plays a role in stress response as a glucocorticoid-responsive gene. Thus, chronic stress may ...
Behavioral epigenetics is the field of study examining the role of epigenetics in shaping animal and human behavior. [1] It seeks to explain how nurture shapes nature, [2] where nature refers to biological heredity [3] and nurture refers to virtually everything that occurs during the life-span (e.g., social-experience, diet and nutrition, and exposure to toxins). [4]
The information carried by DNA is held in the sequence of pieces of DNA called genes. Transmission of genetic information in genes is achieved via complementary base pairing. For example, in transcription, when a cell uses the information in a gene, the DNA sequence is copied into a complementary RNA sequence through the attraction between the ...
A transcriptional activator is a protein (transcription factor) that increases transcription of a gene or set of genes. [1] Activators are considered to have positive control over gene expression, as they function to promote gene transcription and, in some cases, are required for the transcription of genes to occur.
Deacetylation performed by HDAC molecules has the opposite effect. By deacetylating the histone tails, the DNA becomes more tightly wrapped around the histone cores, making it harder for transcription factors to bind to the DNA. This leads to decreased levels of gene expression and is known as gene silencing. [5] [6] [7]
Without a repair marker, DNA would get destroyed by damage accumulated from sources such as the ultraviolet radiation of the sun. Phosphorylation of H2AX at serine 139 (γH2AX) Phosphorylated H2AX (also known as gamma H2AX) is a marker for DNA double strand breaks, [76] and forms part of the response to DNA damage.