BIOLOGY 1A03 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Agouti Gene, Epigenome, Methylation

• School: McMaster University
• Department: Biology
• Course: BIOLOGY 1A03
• Professor: Jurek Kolasa

Document Summary

Chemical dna modiicaions that occur along the genome that change gene acivity without altering the dna sequence. Genes not able to be regulated properly. Low levels can cause the unwinding of histones and thus turning genes on (over producions of genes) High levels can cause the histones to be ightly wound keeping the genes of (underproducions of genes) The epigenome leads to these diference (speciically: cpg methylaion) Agoui genes are kept of in normal healthy mice (brown) due to dna methylaion. Agoui genes are kept on in obese mice (yellow) as the same genes are not methylated. Nutrients silence the agoui gene but do not alter the gene sequence. Female mice that were supplemented had ofspring that were predominately brown and healthy (agoui gene methylated and silenced) Female mice that were not supplemented had ofspring that were predominately yellow and unhealthy (agoui gene unmethylated and acive) Note: methyl donors (i. e. folic acid, choline, vitamin b12)