The central role of translation in modulating gene activity has long been recognized, yet the systematic exploration of quantitative changes in translation at a genome-wide scale in response to a specific stimulus has only recently become technically feasible. Using the well-characterized signaling pathway of the phytohormone ethylene and plant-optimized genome-wide ribosome footprinting, we have uncovered a molecular mechanism linking this hormone's perception to the activation of a gene-specific translational control mechanism. Characterization of one of the targets of this translation regulatory machinery, the ethylene signaling component EBF2, indicates that the signaling molecule EIN2 and the nonsense-mediated decay proteins UPFs play a central role in this ethylene-induced translational response. Furthermore, the 3'UTR of EBF2 is sufficient to confer translational regulation and required for the proper activation of ethylene responses. These findings represent a mechanistic paradigm of gene-specific regulation of translation in response to a key growth regulator.

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The regulation of chromatin structure and gene expression depends substantially on a dynamic and intricate layer of biological and chemical information that constitutes the epigenome. This epigenetic layer of information holds fundamental clues to the molecular mechanisms, not yet fully understood, by which a genotype can influence and configure a specific phenotype. A profound understanding of the molecular underpinnings of epigenetic processes is, thus, essential to wield deliberate spatiotemporal control of gene activation and repression. However, only recently has the technology required to adequately probe the functional significance of specific epigenetic mechanisms become available. This chapter provides an overview of modern epigenome editing systems, including zinc finger proteins, TAL effectors, and CRISPR-Cas systems. It highlights the use of biotechnological tools to investigate the role of DNA and histone post-translational modifications as well as regulatory RNAs to manipulate specific patterns of gene expression. This chapter further discusses the technological limitations that have limited our ability to elucidate epigenetic mechanisms in local and genome-wide contexts.

Human ingenuity is marvelous. It boils down to an impeccable and often ethereal balance among its constituent elements, including knowledge, curiosity, creativity, and action. When the magnitude of each element expands in harmony, human ingenuity becomes transformative. It translates to power-the kind that transforms the world! This book is a testament to that power. Whether you are holding it in your hands or scrolling through pages on a touchscreen, you and I are able to communicate through this medium because, once upon a time, human ingenuity led to the creation of one of the most significant and consequential inventions of all time: the printing press.Johannes Gutenberg, a German goldsmith who lived in the early to mid-fifteenth century, is generally credited with inventing the printing press circa 1436. 1 Gutenberg did not invent books. In fact, he did not even invent printing. Long before the Renaissance, woodblock printing had already been customary during the seventh and eighth centuries in China, Korea, and Japan. 2 And the metal, movable-type system of printing, which originated in Korea, had been used since the eleventh century. 3 Gutenberg's contribution rested on his ability to concoct a novel mechanical contraption to mediate ink transfer between the movable type and paper. He used prior knowledge to adapt screw mechanisms found in antecedent inventions-namely, the wine, papermaker, and linen presses of the time-as the basis to create the mechanical, movable-type printing press. 4 But he did not stop there. When he realized that the conventional water-based ink was not durable for printing purposes, he developed oilbased ink, which, as it turned out, bonded more effectively with the types. 5 The amalgam of knowledge, curiosity, creativity, and action aimed at speeding up the printing process, which culminated in the ingenious design of the first movabletype printing press, fundamentally transformed the world. By the end of the fifteenth century, Gutenberg's invention had spread all over Europe. For the first time in history, books could be produced en masse and at a low cost relative to other printing methods. Indeed, more than twenty million books had been printed by the year 1500. 6