While some research develops at “a snail’s pace,” other projects “canter” along briskly; however, a recent study moved faster than a rat up a drainpipe, with a cross-country team leaving their mark on the “rat race” by successfully identifying novel imprinted genes and highlighting the rapid evolution of imprinting in this vital model animal. A […]
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Epigenetic “Baby-steps” Repress Germline Genome-defense During Development
Much like a set of helping hands can guide, support, and protect a toddler taking their first steps, the guiding force of epigenetics during embryonic development ensures genome stability and supports healthy development by regulating the expression of key genes. Such genes include DNA methylation-sensitive “germline genome-defense” genes, which undergo DNA demethylation and become expressed […]
How I Met Your Mother: DNMT3A from Mom Leaves its Mark on Dad’s Genome in the Early Embryo
While stories of Mom meeting Dad often leave their mark on a family, and sometimes a nation, the plot has now thickened thanks to new findings showing that Mom’s DNMT3A leaves its mark on Dad’s genome in the early embryo. DNA methylation in the male germline undergoes massive changes during preimplantation. High paternal DNA methylation […]
Epigenetic Cross-Talk: Histone H3K36 Methyltransferases Shape Sex Differences in Germ Cell DNA Methylation
Why did the DNA methylation cross the road? To cross-talk to the histone methyltransferase on the other side! In the epigenetics, cross-talk is how different marks “talk” to each other during development and is still something of mystery. NSD1 and SETD2 encode enzymes that chemically modify H3K36me2 and H3K36me3 respectively. Germline mutations in these genes […]
Retrotransposons LIT the Way for Genomic Imprinting During Evolution
It’s clear that humans and mice have taken very different evolutionary paths, but new research suggests that transcription from long terminal repeat retrotransposons (LTRs), which are endogenous retroviral elements that can induce DNA methylation in oocytes, may have acted as guiding lights along the forks in the road. Besides the obvious differences in size, furriness, […]