Emerging topics in epigenetics: ants, brains, and noncoding RNAs
Emerging topics in epigenetics: ants, brains, and noncoding RNAs
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DOI：
10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06363.x
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发表时间：
2012-01-01
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
Bonasio, Roberto
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Bonasio, Roberto
生物学中最伟大的奇迹之一是多细胞生命形式所实现的高度分子组织和复杂性，这些生命形式通常由数百种细胞类型组成，每种细胞类型都具有独特的身份和功能，并且都共享相同的基因组。这些不同细胞特性的长期维持需要表观遗传信号，即调节基因表达的分子标记，并且可以在细胞分裂期间遗传。一些表观遗传信号似乎也与大脑功能密切相关，对神经科学和医学具有重要意义。为了更好地理解这些现象，必须开发新技术，并研究非传统模式生物。例如，真社会性昆虫（如蚂蚁和蜜蜂）的基因组具有截然不同的形态（多型性）和行为（多性），从而产生属于不同种姓的成年个体，它们在殖民地内执行不同的功能。这些明显的表观遗传差异为实验解剖可能在其他生物（包括人类）中保守的分子途径提供了独特的机会。
One of the greatest wonders in biology is the high degree of molecular organization and complexity achieved by multicellular life forms, which are typically composed by hundreds of cell types, each with a unique identity and function and all sharing the same genome. Long-term maintenance of these distinct cell identities requires epigenetic signals, molecular signatures that regulate gene expression and can be inherited during cell division. Some epigenetic signals also appear to have an intimate connection with brain function, with important implications for neuroscience and medicine. To better understand these phenomena, new technologies must be developed and nonconventional model organisms should be studied. For example, the genomes of eusocial insects, such as ants and honeybees, specify drastically different morphologies (polyphenism) and behaviors (polyethism) that yield adult individuals belonging to different castes, which carry out separate functions inside the colony. These sharp epigenetic differences present unique opportunities for the experimental dissection of molecular pathways that may be conserved in other organisms, including humans.