Epigenetics Essay

Epigenetics:

While there seems to be some debate as to the exact definition of what encompasses epigenetics, since the word was coined by Conrad Waddington in the 1940’s, the term has been used largely to describe genetic changes that do not adhere to the typical Mendelian inheritance expectations (7). To put it simply the term referrers to changes in expected gene activity that can be either heritable or non-heritable (1). This should not be confused with mechanisms such as point mutations which also can alter genes by producing a different genotype, but rather should be thought of as a change in state of genetic material leading to alterations in the expression potential of a cell and its substrates (2). Genes are the blueprints to every organism and as such they specificity lay out the formation and

These same genes are what is passed on to offspring and thus are considered heritable. However, since most organisms obtain two sets of these blueprints, one from each parent, the genotype and thus phenotype are not always a clear cut predictable outcome due to mechanisms such as crossing over and chromatin remodeling or even epigenetics. Genes are stretches of deoxyribonucleic acids (DNA) and ribonucleic acids (RNA) that code for a polypeptide or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism (3). Epigenetics can affect the expression of genes at all of these different structural levels, but yet maintain the original genotype and only change the expression outcome or the phenotype unlike point mutations (5). This phenotype change is due to non-genetic factors cause the organism 's genes to express themselves differently by means such as methylation that affects binding sites on DNA, RNA or the histones that package genes (6). This alteration in the interpretation of the genome can affect how and when genes will be expressed leading to unexpected phenotypic expression that can then be passed on to offspring though mechanisms such