Inherited epigenetic variation — revisiting soft inheritance
Nature Reviews GeneticsPublished 14 March 2006
Eric J. Richards
Citations1,179
SJR quartileQ1
SJR score16.36
SNIP6.73
Generate an AI Snapshot to get a quick, structured summary of this paper.
Study Snapshot
ObjectiveStudy objective
MethodsResearch methodology
PopulationPopulation studied
Sample sizeSample sizes
OutcomesStudy outcomes here
ResultsStudy results comes here
LimitationsResearch study limitations comes here
A concise AI-generated summary of the paper will appear here once you click Generate AI Snapshot.
TL;DR
The line between these two components is blurred by inherited epigenetic variation, which is potentially sensitive to environmental inputs.
Abstract
Phenotypic variation is traditionally parsed into components that are directed by genetic and environmental variation. The line between these two components is blurred by inherited epigenetic variation, which is potentially sensitive to environmental inputs. Chromatin and DNA methylation-based mechanisms mediate a semi-independent epigenetic inheritance system at the interface between genetic control and the environment. Should the existence of inherited epigenetic variation alter our thinking about evolutionary change?
Keywords
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
Nature GeneticsEpigenetic regulation of gene expression: how the genome integrates intrinsic and environmental signals
6,302 Citations2003Rudolf Jaenisch, Adrian Bird
Advances in the understanding of the mechanism and role of DNA methylation in biological processes are reviewed, showing that epigenetic mechanisms seem to allow an organism to respond to the environment through changes in gene expression.
Nature NeuroscienceEpigenetic programming by maternal behavior
6,148 Citations2004Ian C.G. Weaver, Nadia Cervoni +7 more
It is shown that an epigenomic state of a gene can be established through behavioral programming, and it is potentially reversible, suggesting a causal relation among epigenomicState, GR expression and the maternal effect on stress responses in the offspring.
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesEpigenetic differences arise during the lifetime of monozygotic twins
3,602 Citations2005Mario F. Fraga, Esteban Ballestar +19 more
This paper presents a meta-analyses of the determinants of infectious disease in eight operation rooms of the immune system and shows clear patterns in response to antibiotics and in particular the presence of EMTs.
NatureCANALIZATION OF DEVELOPMENT AND THE INHERITANCE OF ACQUIRED CHARACTERS
3,292 Citations1942C. H. Waddington
It is suggested that recent views on the nature of the developmental process make it easier to understand how the genotypes of evolving organisms can respond to the environment in a more co-ordinated fashion.
ScienceEpigenetic Transgenerational Actions of Endocrine Disruptors and Male Fertility
2,568 Citations2005Matthew D. Anway, Andrea S. Cupp +2 more
The ability of an environmental factor to reprogram the germ line and to promote a transgenerational disease state has significant implications for evolutionary biology and disease etiology.
NatureX-inactivation profile reveals extensive variability in X-linked gene expression in females
2,141 Citations2005Laura Carrel, Huntington F. Willard
A comprehensive X-inactivation profile of the human X chromosome is presented, representing an estimated 95% of assayable genes in fibroblast-based test systems, and suggests a remarkable and previously unsuspected degree of expression heterogeneity among females.
Annual Review of BiochemistryEUKARYOTIC CYTOSINE METHYLTRANSFERASES
2,056 Citations2005Mary Goll, Timothy H. Bestor
There are multiple families of DNA (cytosine-5) methyltransferases in eukaryotes, and each family appears to be controlled by different regulatory inputs.
Molecular and Cellular BiologyTransposable Elements: Targets for Early Nutritional Effects on Epigenetic Gene Regulation
1,983 Citations2003Robert A. Waterland, Randy L. Jirtle
The results show that dietary methyl supplementation of a/a dams with extra folic acid, vitamin B12, choline, and betaine alter the phenotype of their Avy/a offspring via increased CpG methylation at the AvY locus and that the epigenetic metastability which confers this lability is due to the Avy transposable element.
Nature GeneticsEpigenetic inheritance at the agouti locus in the mouse
1,476 Citations1999Hugh D. Morgan, Heidi G. Sutherland +2 more
It is demonstrated here that this maternal epigenetic effect is not the result of a maternally contributed environment, and results from incomplete erasure of an epigenetic modification when a silenced Avy allele is passed through the female germ line, with consequent inheritance of the epigenetic modified.
Human Molecular GeneticsEpigenetic reprogramming in mammals
1,341 Citations2005Hugh D. Morgan, Fátima Santos +3 more
Comparative work demonstrates reprogramming in all mammalian species analysed, but the extent and timing varies, consistent with notable differences between species during preimplantation development.
NatureAn epigenetic mutation responsible for natural variation in floral symmetry
1,241 Citations1999Pilar Cubas, Coral Vincent +1 more
It is shown that a naturally occurring mutant of Linaria vulgaris carries a defect in Lcyc, a homologue of the cycloidea gene which controls dorsoventral asymmetry in Antirrhinum, indicating that epigenetic mutations may play a more significant role in evolution than has hitherto been suspected.
NatureRole of transposable elements in heterochromatin and epigenetic control
1,225 Citations2004Zachary B. Lippman, Anne-Valérie Gendrel +12 more
Using microarray analysis, it is shown that heterochromatin in Arabidopsis is determined by transposable elements and related tandem repeats, under the control of the chromatin remodelling ATPase DDM1 (Decrease in DNA Methylation 1).
EvolutionGENETIC ASSIMILATION OF AN ACQUIRED CHARACTER
1,171 Citations1953C. H. Waddington
The purpose of the present communication is to describe an experiment in which the hypothesis that if an animal is subjected to unusual circumstances to which it can react in an adaptive manner, the development of the adaptive character might itself become so far canalised that it continued to appear even when the conditions returned to the previous norm.
NatureVernalization requires epigenetic silencing of FLC by histone methylation
972 Citations2004Ruth Bastow, Joshua S. Mylne +4 more
It is shown that vernalization causes changes in histone methylation in discrete domains within the FLC locus, increasing dimethylation of lysines 9 and 27 on histone H3, which identify silenced chromatin states in Drosophila and human cells.
PubMedMaternal epigenetics and methyl supplements affect agouti gene expression in Avy/a mice.
965 Citations1998George L. Wolff, Ralph L. Kodell +2 more
Nature GeneticsDNMT1 forms a complex with Rb, E2F1 and HDAC1 and represses transcription from E2F-responsive promoters
942 Citations2000Keith D. Robertson, Slimane Ait‐Si‐Ali +4 more
It is shown that the predominant mammalian DNA methyltransferase, DNMT1, co-purifies with the retinoblastoma (Rb) tumour suppressor gene product, E2F1, and HDAC1 and thatDNMT1 cooperates with Rb to repress transcription from promoters containing E2f-binding sites.
The FASEB JournalMaternal epigenetics and methyl supplements affect <i>agouti</i> gene expression in <i>A</i> <sup> <i>vy</i> </sup> <i>/a</i> mice
877 Citations1998George L. Wolff, Ralph L. Kodell +2 more
It is reported that feeding pregnant black a/a dams methyl‐supplemented diets alters epigenetic regulation of ag outi expression in their offspring, as indicated by increased agouti/black mottling in the direction of the pseudoagouti phenotype.
CellEpigenetic Codes for Heterochromatin Formation and Silencing
869 Citations2002Eric J. Richards, Sarah C. R. Elgin
A self-reinforcing network of interactions among the three best-characterized covalent modifications that mark heterochromatin suggest a mechanistic basis for spreading of heterochromaatin over large domains and for stable epigenetic inheritance of the silent state.
Nature Reviews GeneticsRNAi-mediated pathways in the nucleus
829 Citations2005Marjori Matzke, James A. Birchler
RNA interference is an evolutionarily conserved mechanism that uses short antisense RNAs that are generated by 'dicing' dsRNA precursors to target corresponding mRNAs for cleavage to facilitate the directed silencing of specific genomic regions.
Journal of NutritionMaternal Methyl Supplements in Mice Affect Epigenetic Variation and DNA Methylation of Offspring
791 Citations2002Craig A. Cooney, Apurva A. Dave +1 more
Methyl supplements increase the level of DNA methylation in the agouti LTR and change the phenotype of offspring in the healthy, longer-lived direction, which shows that methyl supplements have strong effects onDNA methylation and phenotype and are likely to affect long-term health.
ScienceMethyltransferase Recruitment and DNA Hypermethylation of Target Promoters by an Oncogenic Transcription Factor
780 Citations2002Luciano Di Croce, Veronica A. Raker +10 more
It is reported here that the leukemia-promoting PML-RAR fusion protein induces gene hypermethylation and silencing by recruiting DNA methyltransferases to target promoters and that hyper methylation contributes to its leukemogenic potential.
Epigenetic Inheritance and Evolution
738 Citations1995Eva Jablonka, Marion J. Lamb
The EMBO JournalCentral role of Drosophila SU(VAR)3–9 in histone H3‐K9 methylation and heterochromatic gene silencing
710 Citations2002Gunnar Schotta, Anja Ebert +7 more
A central role for the SU(VAR)3–9 HMTase in heterochromatin‐induced gene silencing in Drosophila is indicated and the human SUV39H1 gene is able to partially rescue Su(var)3-9 silencing defects.
genesisResistance of IAPs to methylation reprogramming may provide a mechanism for epigenetic inheritance in the mouse
652 Citations2003Natasha Lane, Wendy Dean +5 more
Genome‐wide epigenetic reprogramming by demethylation occurs in early mouse embryos and primordial germ cells, which can result in the transgenerational inheritance of epigenetic states of IAPs, which could lead to heritable epimutations of neighbouring genes through influencing their transcriptional states.
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesTransgenerational inheritance of epigenetic states at the murine <i>Axin</i> <sup> <i>Fu</i> </sup> allele occurs after maternal and paternal transmission
644 Citations2003Vardhman K. Rakyan, Suyinn Chong +5 more
It is found that the methylation state of AxinFu in mature sperm reflects the methylated state of the allele in the somatic tissue of the animal, suggesting that it does not undergo epigenetic reprogramming during gametogenesis, and it is shown that epigenetic inheritance is influenced by strain background.
Harvard University Press eBooksThe Evolutionary Synthesis
630 Citations1980Ernst Mayr, William B. Provine +1 more
GeneticsArabidopsis <i>MET1</i> Cytosine Methyltransferase Mutants
624 Citations2003Mark W. Kankel, Douglas E. Ramsey +7 more
The distribution of late-flowering phenotypes in a mapping population segregating met1-1 indicates that the flowering-time phenotype is caused by the accumulation of inherited defects at loci unlinked to the met1 mutation, which led to a global reduction of cytosine methylation throughout the genome.
Molecular CellThe Late Flowering Phenotype of fwa Mutants Is Caused by Gain-of-Function Epigenetic Alleles of a Homeodomain Gene
615 Citations2000Wim J. J. Soppe, Steven E. Jacobsen +5 more
The transition to flowering in Arabidopsis thaliana is delayed in fwa mutant plants and mechanisms for establishment and maintenance of the epigenetic mark on FWA are discussed.
Current Opinion in Structural BiologyPost-transcriptional gene silencing by siRNAs and miRNAs
553 Citations2005Witold Filipowicz, Łukasz Jaśkiewicz +2 more
The first structural information on protein components of the RNA interference (RNAi) and miRNA machineries is emerging, and provides some insight into the mechanism of RNA-silencing reactions.
The EMBO JournalRepression of genes by DNA methylation depends on CpG density and promoter strength: evidence for involvement of a methyl‐CpG binding protein.
480 Citations1992Joan Boyes, Adrian Bird
It is proposed that sparsely methylated genes form an unstable complex with MeCP‐1 which prevents transcription when the promoter is weak and can be disrupted by a strong promoter, thereby allowing the methylated gene to be transcribed.
Nature GeneticsGermline epimutation of MLH1 in individuals with multiple cancers
475 Citations2004Catherine M. Suter, David I. K. Martin +1 more
Two individuals with soma-wide, allele-specific and mosaic hypermethylation of the DNA mismatch repair gene MLH1 are reported, with one having had multiple primary tumors that show mismatch repair deficiency and both meeting clinical criteria for hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer.
ScienceHypermethylated <i>SUPERMAN</i> Epigenetic Alleles in <i>Arabidopsis</i>
437 Citations1997Steven E. Jacobsen, Elliot M. Meyerowitz
Seven heritable but unstable sup epi-alleles (the clark kent alleles) are associated with nearly identical patterns of excess cytosine methylation within the SUP gene and a decreased level of SUP RNA.
Nature GeneticsEvidence for an epigenetic mechanism by which Hsp90 acts as a capacitor for morphological evolution
409 Citations2002Vincent E. Sollars, Xiangyi Lu +4 more
Hsp90 acts as a capacitor for morphological evolution through epigenetic and genetic mechanisms, whereby reduced activity of Hsp90 induces a heritably altered chromatin state.
Journal of Biological ChemistryPeriodic DNA Methylation in Maize Nucleosomes and Demethylation by Environmental Stress
375 Citations2002Nicolas Steward, Mikako Ito +3 more
When maize seedlings were exposed to cold stress, a genome-wide demethylation occurred in root tissues, and one particular fragment, designated ZmMI1, contained part of the coding region of a putative protein and part of a retrotransposon-like sequence.
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesDevelopmental abnormalities and epimutations associated with DNA hypomethylation mutations.
372 Citations1996Tetsuji Kakutani, Jeffrey A. Jeddeloh +3 more
The transmission of two common morphological trait syndromes in genetic crosses demonstrated that the phenotypes are caused by heritable lesions that develop in ddm1 mutant backgrounds.
Nature Reviews GeneticsEpigenomics: beyond CpG islands
350 Citations2004Melissa Fazzari, John M. Greally
The statistical solutions that help to overcome the problems with data-set complexity are described, in anticipation of the imminent wealth of data that will be generated by new genome-wide epigenetic profiling and DNA sequence analysis techniques.
ScienceRNAi-Independent Heterochromatin Nucleation by the Stress-Activated ATF/CREB Family Proteins
336 Citations2004Songtao Jia, Ken-ichi Noma +1 more
It is reported that Atf1 and Pcr1, two ATF/CREB family proteins, act in a parallel mechanism to the RNAi pathway for heterochromatin nucleation and bind to the mating-type region and target histone H3 lysine-9 methylation and the Swi6 protein essential for heterchromatin assembly.
Seminars in Cancer BiologyThe epigenetics of cancer etiology
332 Citations2004Andrew P. Feinberg
The view that epigenetics and genetics are complementary in the area of cancer etiology is presented, and a hypothesis in which epigenetic alterations contribute to tumor progression, but they also increase the probability that genetic changes, when they occur, will lead to cancer initiation is proposed.
Molecular CellThe Nucleation and Maintenance of Heterochromatin by a Histone Deacetylase in Fission Yeast
320 Citations2005Takatomi Yamada, Wolfgang Fischle +3 more
It is shown that Clr3, a fission yeast homolog of mammalian class II HDACs, acts in a distinct pathway parallel to RNAi-directed heterochromatin nucleation to recruit Clr4 and mediate H3K9 methylation at the silent mating-type region and centromeres and that it limits RNA polymerase II accessibility to naturally silenced repeats at heterochromaatin domains.
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesRNA-dependent RNA polymerase is an essential component of a self-enforcing loop coupling heterochromatin assembly to siRNA production
294 Citations2004Tomoyasu Sugiyama, Hugh P. Cam +3 more
It is shown that a point mutation within the catalytic domain of Rdp1 abolished its RNA-dependent RNA polymerase activity and resulted in the loss of transcriptional silencing and heterochromatin at centromeres, together with defects in mitotic chromosome segregation and telomere clustering.
Annual Review of GeneticsThe Genetics of RNA Silencing
293 Citations2002Marcel Tijsterman, René F. Ketting +1 more
This chapter gives an overview of both biochemical and genetic approaches leading to the current understanding of the molecular mechanism of RNA silencing and its probable biological function.
Genes & DevelopmentEpigenetic variation in <i>Arabidopsis</i> disease resistance
289 Citations2002Trevor Stokes, Barbara N. Kunkel +1 more
It is shown that an Arabidopsis thaliana R-gene cluster is also subject to epigenetic variation, and a heritable but metastable epigenetic variant bal that overexpresses the R-like gene At4g16890 from a gene cluster on Chromosome 4 is described.
Genes & DevelopmentDifferential chromatin structure within a tandem array 100 kb upstream of the maize <i>b1</i> locus is associated with paramutation
283 Citations2002Maike Stam, Christiane Belele +2 more
This is the first endogenous gene for which sequences required for paramutation have been defined and examined for methylation and chromatin structure and the tandem repeat sequences are more methylated in B-I (high expressing) relative to B' (low expressing), opposite of the typical correlation.
Genes & DevelopmentDifferential expression of a new dominant agouti allele (Aiapy) is correlated with methylation state and is influenced by parental lineage.
275 Citations1994Edward J. Michaud, Martine J. van Vugt +4 more
Data are presented to show that the differential expressivity of the Aiapy allele is correlated with the methylation status of the inserted IAP 5' LTR, which further support the hypothesis that in dominant yellow mutations at the agouti locus, it is the ubiquitous expression of the wild-type agoutsi coding sequence that is responsible for the yellow coat color, obesity, diabetes, and tumorigenesis.
Nature GeneticsThe transcriptional consequences of mutation and natural selection in Caenorhabditis elegans
270 Citations2005Dee R. Denver, Krystalynne Morris +4 more
This work directly compared observed transcriptional variation patterns in the mutation-accumulation and natural isolate lines to a neutral model of transcriptome evolution to show that strong stabilizing selection dominates the evolution of transcriptional change for thousands of C. elegans expressed sequences.
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesPolymerase chain reaction-aided genomic sequencing of an X chromosome-linked CpG island: methylation patterns suggest clonal inheritance, CpG site autonomy, and an explanation of activity state stability.
268 Citations1990Gerd P. Pfeifer, Sabine D. Steigerwald +3 more
Estimates are made for maintenance efficiency and de novo methylation efficiency and the hypothesis that several independent sites must be unmethylated for transcription can explain the stable maintenance of X chromosome inactivation.
Current BiologyEpigenetic inheritance in the mouse
248 Citations1997Irmgard Roemer, Wolf Reik +2 more
This is the first demonstration of epigenetic inheritance of specific alterations of gene expression through the germline, and the observations establish a mammalian model for transgenerational effects that are important for humal health, and also raise the question of the evolutionary importance of epigenetics.
CellEpigenetic control of an endogenous gene family is revealed by a novel blue fluorescent mutant of arabidopsis
241 Citations1995Judith Bender, Gerald R. Fink
Revertant lines display coordinately reduced methylation of both PAI2 and PAI3, implying that this hypomethylation acts in a concerted manner across the genome rather than at individual sites.
Current BiologyEctopic hypermethylation of flower-specific genes in Arabidopsis
231 Citations2000Steven E. Jacobsen, Hajime Sakai +3 more
The results suggest that ectopic hypermethylation of specific genes in mutant backgrounds that show overall decreases in methylation may be a widespread phenomenon that could explain many of the developmental defects seen in Arabidopsis methylation mutants.
Genes & DevelopmentsiRNAs targeting an intronic transposon in the regulation of natural flowering behavior in <i>Arabidopsis</i>
220 Citations2004Jun Liu, Yuehui He +2 more
It is shown that the transposable element renders FLC-Ler subject to repressive chromatin modifications mediated by short interfering RNAs generated from homologous transposability elements in the genome.
CellThe Role of the RNAi Machinery in Heterochromatin Formation
207 Citations2005Michael Wassenegger
There is increasing evidence that RNA-mediated chromatin modifications play an important role in epigenetic transcriptional gene silencing.
Genes & DevelopmentMolecular mechanisms in the developmental regulation of the maize Suppressor-mutator transposable element.
204 Citations1988Jo Ann Banks, Patrick Masson +1 more
A trans-acting Spm promotes extensive demethylation and transcriptional activation of an inactive programmable element, as well as its heritable reactivation, which is of general relevance to the developmental regulation of gene expression.
CellInheritance of allelic blueprints for methylation patterns
171 Citations1988Alcino J. Silva
This genetic approach uncovered evidence of variation in the methylation of allelic sites on homologous chromosomes that was tissue-specific and reproducible after transmission through the germ line, demonstrating that homologueous chromosomes have distinct blueprints for the tissue- specific regulation of methylation.
GeneticsSpontaneous Mutational Effects on Reproductive Traits of <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i>
165 Citations2000Ruth G. Shaw, Diane L. Byers +1 more
The finding of an approximately symmetric distribution of Mutational effects invalidates the standard approach for inferring properties of spontaneous mutation and necessitates further development of more general approaches that avoid restrictions on the distribution of mutational effects.
Journal of Theoretical BiologyEpigenetic Inheritance, Genetic Assimilation and Speciation
160 Citations1999Csaba Pál, István Miklós
Nature ImmunologyActive recruitment of DNA methyltransferases regulates interleukin 4 in thymocytes and T cells
146 Citations2003Karen W. Makar, Mercedes Pérez‐Melgosa +4 more
It is shown that single-positive thymocytes express IL-4, but attenuate GATA-3 expression, recruit DNA methyltransferases (Dnmts) to the Il4-Il13 locus and downregulate IL- 4 expression as they mature into T cells, indicating that Dnmt1 and DNA methylation are essential for proper Il4 regulation.
CellInterchromosomal Transfer of Epigenetic States in Ascobolus: Transfer of DNA Methylation Is Mechanistically Related to Homologous Recombination
133 Citations1996Vincent Colot, Laurent Maloisel +1 more
Advantages unique to the fungus Ascobolus immersus are exploited to obtain direct experimental evidence that methylation transfer can occur between homologous chromosomes, and these and other observations strongly suggest thatmethylation transfer and recombination are mechanistically related.
Molecular and Cellular BiologyDNA Methylation Density Influences the Stability of an Epigenetic Imprint and Dnmt3a/b-Independent De Novo Methylation
125 Citations2002Matthew C. Lorincz, Dirk Schübeler +3 more
The presence of a DNmt3a/Dnmt3b-independent de novo methyltransferase activity that is stimulated by the presence of preexisting methylation is revealed.
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesSpontaneous deleterious mutation in <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i>
114 Citations1999Stewart T. Schultz, Michael Lynch +1 more
This genomic deleterious mutation rate is consistent with estimates of nucleotide substitution rates in flowering plants, the genome size of Arabidopsis, and the equilibrium inbreeding depression observed in this highly self-fertilizing plant species.
GeneticsVariegated phenotype and developmental methylation changes of a maize allele originating from epimutation.
107 Citations1994O. Prem Das, Joachim Messing
It is hypothesized that the variegated phenotype in maize results from a general epigenetic pathway which causes a progressive decrease in methylation and increase in expression potential of the P gene as a function of cell divisions in each meristem of the plant.
Genes & DevelopmentTranscription from an upstream promoter controls methylation signaling from an inverted repeat of endogenous genes in<i>Arabidopsis</i>
92 Citations2003Stacey Melquist, Judith Bender
It is shown that the predominant PAI transcript initiates at a novel unmethylated promoter that lies upstream of one of the inverted repeat PAI genes, consistent with an RNA methylation signal.
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesA population-epigenetic model to infer site-specific methylation rates from double-stranded DNA methylation patterns
92 Citations2005Diane P. Genereux, Brooks E. Miner +2 more
A population-epigenetic model of DNA methylation dynamics is developed that can infer site-specific rates of both maintenance and de novo methylation, values that determine the fidelity of methylation inheritance, from double-stranded methylation data.
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesInduction of prolactin-deficient variants of GH3 rat pituitary tumor cells by ethyl methanesulfonate: reversion by 5-azacytidine, a DNA methylation inhibitor.
63 Citations1982Robert Ivarie, J.A. Morris
The results support the hypothesis that the alkylating agent may promote the specific methylation of the rPRL gene or a gene regulating its activity, either one of which leads to inactivation of expression of theRPL gene in GH3 cells.
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesInduction and maintenance of nonsymmetrical DNA methylation in <i>Neurospora</i>
54 Citations2002Eric U. Selker, Michael Freitag +5 more
It is proposed that de novo and maintenance methylation are manifestations of a single mechanism in Neurospora, catalyzed by the DIM-2 DNA methyltransferase, providing the framework of a self-reinforcing system that could result in propagation of DNA methylation and the associated silenced chromatin state.
Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative BiologyReading the DNA Methylation Signal
46 Citations2004Adrian Bird, Donald Macleod
Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative BiologyLinking Covalent Histone Modifications to Epigenetics: The Rigidity and Plasticity of the Marks
42 Citations2004Yanming Wang, Joanna Wysocka +4 more
Increasing evidence underscores an emerging theme in biology wherein “epigenetic” mechanisms, defined as mechanisms operating outside of changes in DNA sequence, govern gene function by creating potentially heritable alternative states of chromatin.
Somatic Cell and Molecular GeneticsAutonomous gene expression on the human inactive X chromosome
21 Citations1980Brenda Kahan, Robert DeMars
Local derepression of the hpt locus on the human inactive X chromosome obtained in human female fibroblast x mouse L cell somatic cell hybrids was not correlated with the presence or absence of any specific human chromosome in the hybrids.
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesChemically induced paramutation at the R locus in maize.
14 Citations1967John D. Axtell, R. A. Brink
…