Nilanjana Maulik • Tom Karagiannis
Editors

2014

Implications for Epigenetics and Health

Although coined in the 1940s by Conrad Waddington and now representing an intense field of biomedical research, the precise definition of Epigenetics remains controversial. In its simplest form epigenetics refers to heritable changes that are not due to changes in the underlying DNA sequence. Whereas DNA methylation is a well-known and relatively well characterized epigenetic mechanism, it is still debatable as to whether other processes such as histone posttranslational modifications represent epigenetics per se, given their transient nature. In this volume, we discuss DNA methylation, histone posttranslational modifications and their alteration by chromatin-modifying compounds, and regulation of gene expression by noncoding RNA and mi-RNA as part of the epigenetic umbrella.