NATS 1690 Lecture Notes - Transgenerational Epigenetic Inheritance, Primary Transcript, Phenotype
4 Nov 2013
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Document Summary
Phenotype is determined by genotype + environment. Dynamically responds to the environment stress, diet, behavior, toxins and other factors activate chemical switches that regulate gene expression. Gene on dna primary transcript mrna (nucleus, cytosol) protein. Transcriptional control rna processing control rna transport control. The study of chemical reactions and factors that influence these reactions, that regulate gene expression. Study of heritable changes in gene expression or cellular phenotype caused by mechanisms other than changes in the underlying dna sequence. Some altered gene expressions may be due to environmental triggering of methylation patterns of the histones or of dna. If a gene present in one"s genome is methylated, the trait may not be expressed. During development, socialized cellular machinery search the genome and erases its epigenetic tags in order to return the cells to a genetic blank slate. In a small minority of genes, epigenetic tags make it through this process and pass unchanged from parent to offspring.
