New form of DNA modification may carry inheritable information
Scientists at the University of Chicago, Harvard University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have described the surprising discovery and function of a new DNA modification in insects, worms and algae. Common DNA modifications occur through methylation, a chemical process that can dramatically change gene expression, which regulates the eventual production of proteins that carry out the functions of an organism. It's all part of a growing new subfield of epigenetics being pioneered by Professor Chuan He and his collaborators. Through epigenetics, organisms sometimes bypass the genetic code to transmit certain traits to their offspring. DNA modifications, without changing DNA sequence, carry out those transmissions. "The human genome is not static. It contains dynamic DNA modifications that carry key inheritable epigenetic information passed among generations of cells," said He, the John T. Wilson Distinguished Service Professor in Chemistry and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator.
