Epigenetics & Cancer & Gene Networks …Oh Me(thylation)!November 15, 2013Now that we’ve landed smack dab in the middle of the age of big data, some interesting techniques have emerged to interrogate the mind-boggling amounts of information from our (epi)genome. Dr. Ranjan Perera and team at the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Florida) applied some of that new analysis wizardry to learn more about the complexity of […]
Methylcytosine Makes its Mark on RNA MethylationNovember 6, 2013Methylcytosine – It’s not just for DNA anymore. Despite being almost exclusively associated with DNA for decades, methylcytosine (5mC) has recently been shown to be an important base modification in RNA as well. Exploding interest in the RNA version of 5mC, what it does, and how it works, has been sparked by a sharp uptick […]
Natural (Epi)genetic Variation: A Role for Lineage Determining Transcription FactorsOctober 25, 2013The intimate tango between epigenome and evolution has just taken an interesting spin. With 88% of candidate loci from GWAS (genome wide association studies) pointing toward non-coding regions, the potential for acquired epigenetic marks to explain missing heritability, cross generations, and add variety to populations, offers huge potential for understanding natural variation and evolution, which […]
Enhancer Transcribed RNAs No Longer Just Second Banana to PromotersOctober 24, 2013Enhancer regions are starting to come into their own as important members of the epigenome – way more than just add-ons that increase promoter transcription. A new study shows us that the RNA world just won’t stop expanding. Drs. Rao and Yuan from the Blood Center of Wisconsin and Harvard, along with a talented team […]
DNMT1-interacting RNAs (DiRs): DIY Methylation for the Locus that has EverythingOctober 18, 2013The holidays are just around the corner, but the gifts are arriving early as a talented crew of epigenetics enthusiasts published some great work in Nature last week that suggests some RNA transcripts have more self control than a Jedi. Look out Luke, these under appreciated RNAs fit DNMT1 like a glove, and block local DNA methylation. […]
We are the 98%: Intergenic Regions (Finally) Get Some BuzzOctober 11, 2013Many chose to focus on the ‘wealthy’ two percent of our genome that produces protein, but we’ve always found the other 98% to be much more interesting. Thankfully, we’re past the days of referring to non-coding, intergenic regions as ‘Junk DNA’, and new research is proving how scientifically rich they really are. Dr. Emily Hodges […]
A Crash Course in Folate, Nutrition, and DNA Methylation Regulation with Dr. Patrick StoverOctober 10, 2013Dr. Patrick Stover, PhD, the Director of the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University, provides a great overview of the key role of folate in one-carbon metabolism, and DNA methylation in nutrition. Folate, Nutrition, and DNA Methylation Regulation There’s a long history in the whole field of folate metabolism, one-carbon metabolism, that outcomes […]
R-Loops and GC-skew Predicts Epigenetic Effects of CpG IslandsOctober 9, 2013With the EpiGenie Fortune Telling Machine in the shop most of the time, it’s pretty difficult for us to predict much of anything. (Yeah, we didn’t see the whole ‘twerking’ phenomenon coming either!) But some enterprising researchers have developed a way to classify and predict the epigenetic and transcriptional activities of various promoter regions based […]
Inducible Models Breathe New Life into Epigenetic Inheritance StudiesOctober 8, 2013Food, toxins, and stress can all have enormous effects on the epigenome, but pinning down the true epigenetic mechanisms at work is the tricky part. While it’s been difficult to determine mechanisms of action in standard animal models, new ones have been developed using Tetracyline-induced systems, that make it much simpler to tease out how […]
Charting Where Noncoding RNA Transcription Kicks OffSeptember 24, 2013While ‘Dark Matter’ is thought to constitute roughly 85% of the cosmos, our genomic dark matter (i.e. noncoding RNAs) makes up an even larger portion (~95%) of our genetic content. Leaving the vastness of outer space to astrophysicists, Dr. Bryan Venters and Dr. Franklin Pugh at Pennsylvania State University focused on creating a map of […]
