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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]
The role of epigenetics in evolution is clearly linked to the selective pressures that regulate that process. As organisms leave offspring that are best suited to their environment, environmental stresses change DNA gene expression that is further passed down to their offspring, allowing for them also to better thrive in their environment.
It is an epigenetic process that involves DNA methylation and histone methylation without altering the genetic sequence. These epigenetic marks are established ("imprinted") in the germline (sperm or egg cells) of the parents and are maintained through mitotic cell divisions in the somatic cells of an organism.
Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance is the proposed transmission of epigenetic markers and modifications from one generation to multiple subsequent generations without altering the primary structure of DNA. [1]
[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.
Epigenetics of human development is the study of how epigenetics (hertiable characteristics that do not involve changes in DNA sequence) effects human development. Development before birth, including gametogenesis , embryogenesis , and fetal development , is the process of body development from the gametes are formed to eventually combine into ...
Since epigenetic changes can be influenced by environmental factors, have a potentially higher rate of spontaneous mutation than genetic sequences, and may be passed down through non-Mendelian inheritance, they play a significant role in adaptation. [1] Population epigenetics therefore offers new insights into the mechanisms of evolution ...
The function of DNA strands (yellow) alters depending on how it is organized around histones (blue) that can be methylated (green).. In biology, the epigenome of an organism is the collection of chemical changes to its DNA and histone proteins that affects when, where, and how the DNA is expressed; these changes can be passed down to an organism's offspring via transgenerational epigenetic ...