What is Epigenetics?

If we imagine that most of us see our genetics as the smallest and most obscure aspect of our being, then epigenetics are an even more minute part of the genetics that make or break us. I picture epigenetics as being the particles that make up an atom. We envision atoms as the smallest possible particle, the one that makes up all matter, alive or dead. And yet, inside the atoms are even smaller particles—the protons, neutrons, and electrons. Although these particles make it no less or no more of an atom, they change the fundamental functioning of an atom, having control over whether it is stable or not. The PBS video entitled Epigenetics (2007) tells us that epigenetics can be methylation patterns, which they refer to as a second genome, or an epigenome. Randy Jirtle of Duke University Medical Center compares genetics and epigenetics to a computer’s hardware and software. The hardware is compared to genetics, or the genome itself, and the software is compared to epigenetics, or the epigenome. The narrator, Neil Degrasse Tyson, explains that although all of our cells contain the same DNA, epigenomes tell the cells which organ cell to develop into. In addition, he points out that the DNA can change during critical points in our lives (Holt). The definition of an epigenetic trait is “a stably heritable phenotype resulting from changes in a chromosome without alterations in the DNA sequence. (Berger, Kouzarides, Sheikhattar, & Shilatifard, 2009)”

The PBS Epigenetics video (2007) also showcases another study conducted on identical twins, two human beings born of the same fertilized egg who have the same DNA. The study wanted to understand why twins can have identical DNA and still experience differences in their bodies’ growth and deve...

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... T., Sheikhattar, R., & Shilatifard, A. (2009). An operational definition of epigenetics. Genes and Development, 781-783. Retrieved from http://genesdev.cshlp.org/content/23/7/781.long

Heijmans, B. T., Tobi, E. W., Stein, A. D., Putter, H., Blauw, G. J., Susser, E. S., . . . Lumeye, L. H. (2008). Persistent epigenetic differences associated with prenatal exposure to famine in humans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 17046-17049. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.db16.linccweb.org/stable/10.2307/25465222?Search=yes&resultItemClick=true&searchText=epigenetics&searchText=human&searchText=research&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Depigenetics%2Bhuman%2Bresearch%26amp%3Bacc%3Don%26amp%

Holt, S. (Producer). (n.d.). Epigenetics [Motion Picture]. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/epigenetics.html