Terminology

Epigenetics

Influences chromatin structure.

Open chromatin promotes accessible and expressible DNA.

Heterochromatin

When the DNA is closed and inaccessible for transcription.

Euchromatin

When the DNA is open and accessible for transcription.

DNA Methylation Methyl Groups (tags)

Methyl groups (tags) placed on DNA tells the chromatin to close.

Influences open vs closed DNA without changing DNA sequences (the A/G/C/Ts).

Histone Acetylation Acetyl Groups (tags)

Acetyl groups (tags) placed on histone proteins (an amino acid in a histone tail) tell the chromatin to open.

• Reduces the positive charge of the histone, opening up the chromatin structure and promoting the initiation of transcription.

• To reverse the effect, histone deacetylases (HDACs) remove acetyl groups and DNA becomes tightly wound and inaccessible again.

Epigenome Metaphor

What's your favorite color of the rainbow? Now picture a rainbow and focus in on that color. Describe the scene. You're probably picturing a bright, sunny day on the beach. Okay, so let's change the environment. There's a factory producing smog behind you. There's a lot of pollution in the air. The sun is starting to look hazy, the rainbow starts to blur together. Now, when you look for your favorite color, you can's discern it from the next closest color. The colors bleed together--that's your environment expanding or contracting your epigenome. Your environment muddles the waters, muddles the genome, so to speak.

Uncategorized

Mating can initiate stable RNA silencing that overcomes epigenetic recovery Devanapally et al. 2021 Article

?

β-Glucan Reverses the Epigenetic State of LPS-Induced Immunological Tolerance Novakovic et al. 2018 Author Manuscript

?

Translational regulation of environmental adaptation in bacteria Tollerson II et al. 2020 Review Article

?

Epigenetics and Helicobacter pylori Capparelli et al. 2022 Review Article

?

Moving toward the Inclusion of Epigenomics in Bacterial Genome Evolution: Perspectives and Challenges Passeri et al. 2024 Review Article

?