The Many Faces of EpigeneticsOxford, December 2017

Abstract

The conference 'The Many Faces of Epigenetics: Multidisciplinary Perspectives "over" Genetics' was held in Oxford (6-8 December 2017) and offered a valuable window into the domain of Epigenetics and its promises. The workshop revealed that, among a wealth of discourses about Epigenetics, it is not so easy to decipher which discourses are to be trusted. Because Epigenetics is a rather old notion that has generated many debates and promises, defining precisely what has changed and where we are currently is a challenge in itself. Interestingly, the conference allowed debates beyond statements such as 'If you don't know the cause, you say it's epigenetic' (Deichmann 2016), pointing out that the lack of a precise definition of Epigenetics was no hindrance to the discussions. Finally, it highlighted the grounds of (dis)agreement among communities of natural and social scientists; but eventually the discussions showed that epigenetic tools open the path to new topics and challenges that are awaiting us.

Maternal influences on fetal brain development: The role of nutrition, infection and stress, and the potential for intergenerational consequences

“…Many studies have suggested that the early life environment influences the health of the offspring through induced changes in epigenetic marks and there has been much recent interest in the possibility that the transmission of effects (from both mother and father) could occur through epigenetic effects that are transmitted through the germline. Although there is no universal definition of the term ‘epigenetic’ [ 108 , 109 ], in the DOHaD field the term has often been used to include DNA methylation, histone modifications and/or non-coding RNA. Many animal and human studies reporting associations between the early life environment and disease risk have reported differences in such epigenetic marks in the offspring [ 110 ] although there is, as yet, little evidence that these differences are causative of disease.…”

Adenine, a key player in biology and medicinal chemistry

“…KMTs catalyze mono-(Kme1), di-(Kme2) or tri-(Kme3) methylation of lysine residues, whereas PRMTs catalyze monomethylation of arginines (Rme1) or dimethylation of arginines (in a symmetrical (Rme2s) or asymmetrical (Rme2a) manner) (Figure 2B). HMTs are involved in various diseases, in particular cancers and infectious diseases, and are thus very interesting therapeutic targets [31][32][33][34][35]. SAM and SAH scaffolds were exploited to develop numerous HMT inhibitors [36].…”

The epigenetic origin of life history transitions in plants and algae

“…There is much confusion in the literature over the term ‘epigenetic’ since it is often used to encompass all forms of DNA and histone modification (Bird 2007 ). The most accurate and accepted definition of epigenetics defines it as ‘the study of heritable phenotypes that do not alter the DNA sequence’ (Bonasio et al 2010 ; Arimondo et al 2019 ). Just as genetic information encoded by DNA is inherited from cell-to-cell, so too must an epigenetic modification be faithfully restored during each cell cycle (Reinberg and Vales 2018 ).…”