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An epigenetics gold rush: new controls for DNA, RNA and gene expression

• nextbigfuture.com Author: brian wang

These marks act like a chemical notation, telling the cell which genes to express and which to keep silent. As such, the epigenome helps to explain how cells with identical DNA can develop into the multitude of specialized types that make up different tissues. The marks help cells in the heart, for example, maintain their identity and not turn into neurons or fat cells. Misplaced epigenetic marks are often found in cancerous cells.

Most epigenetic research focused on the tags associated with DNA and the histone proteins that it wraps around. But more than 100 different types of chemical mark had been identified on RNA, and nobody knew what they did.
In 2009, researchers began hunting for reversible marks on RNA and the proteins that erase them.
Nine years later, such research has given birth to an 'ome of its own, the epitranscriptome. Researchers have shown that a methyl group attached to adenine, one of the four bases in RNA, has crucial roles in cell differentiation, and may contribute to cancer, obesity and more.


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