Conference: 2009 Epigenetics Gordon Research Conference being held August 9-14, 2009

知识价值。本项目将为2009年8月举行的表观遗传学戈登研究会议提供支持。表观遗传学被定义为研究基因组与环境之间的相互作用，导致基因表达的变化而不改变DNA序列。因此，表观遗传学的研究导致了对基因组功能和异常环境刺激后果的理解。近年来，表观遗传学揭示了一些最特别的基因调控形式，并迅速成为遗传学、基因组学和医学中最令人兴奋的研究领域之一。这些进步是随着人们认识到环境是健康和疾病的重要调节因素而出现的，尽管确切的机制仍然难以捉摸。很明显，由环境引起的功能改变不一定涉及突变变化，而可能涉及稳定的表观遗传变化。尽管基因组计划提供了无数生物体的完整核苷酸序列，但研究人员正在转向表观遗传学领域，以了解在细胞和整个生物体的背景下，这些序列是如何被正确和异常地解释的。表观遗传过程包含了令人印象深刻的多种机制，包括非编码RNA （ncRNA）、DNA甲基化、朊病毒、组蛋白修饰、染色质重塑、高阶染色体结构和核室，所有这些都将在本次会议上讨论。更广泛的影响。本次会议将在各个层面探讨环境与表观基因组之间的相互作用。在整个生物体水平上，将重点关注正常和异常环境刺激对健康的影响。在最分子水平上，会议旨在了解特定环境刺激如何在不改变DNA序列的情况下改变表观基因组。除了经典的表观遗传现象，如印记，x失活，RNAi，参数化和横切，几个会议将致力于毒素，饮食，亲代护理，内分泌干扰物促进正常发育，行为，癌症，糖尿病和衰老。例子将从原核生物、真菌、植物和动物王国的模式生物中提取。自1995年成立以来，该会议在推动表观遗传学领域的发展方面发挥了关键作用，在创造新的研究途径方面赢得了国际声誉，并为汇集不同科学家群体提供了独特的环境。第八届戈登表观遗传学研究会议将：(1)通过促进在广泛的表观遗传系统中工作的专家的信息和思想交流，促进对表观遗传机制的理解；(2)引入突破表观遗传学边界的新议题和新问题，同时提供一个可以听取和公开讨论不同观点的场所；(3)促进年轻研究人员的职业发展，包括学生、博士后和新的主要研究人员，包括代表性不足的少数民族。

Intellectual merit. This project will provide support for the Epigenetics Gordon Research Conference to be held in Aug, 2009. Epigenetics is defined as the study of interactions between genome and environment that leads to changes in gene expression without changing the DNA sequence. The study of epigenetics therefore leads to an understanding of genome function and consequences of aberrant environmental stimuli. In recent years, epigenetics has revealed some of the most extraordinary forms of gene regulation and quickly become one of the most exciting research areas in genetics, genomics, and medicine. The advances have come with the realization that the environment is a significant modulator of health and disease, though the exact mechanisms have remained elusive. It is clear that functional alteration caused by the environment does not necessarily involve mutational change, but can instead involve stable epigenetic change. Even as genome projects are providing the complete nucleotide sequence of a myriad of organisms, researchers are turning to the field of epigenetics to understand how that sequence is interpreted both correctly and aberrantly in the context of the cell and the whole organism. Epigenetic processes encompass an impressive diversity of mechanisms including noncoding RNA (ncRNA), DNA methylation, prions, histone modifications, chromatin remodelling, higher order chromosome structures, and nuclear compartments, all of which will be discussed at this meeting. Broader impacts. This conference will explore the interaction between the environment and the epigenome at all levels. At the whole-organism level, there will be a focus on the health consequences of normal and aberrant environmental stimuli. At the most molecular level, the conference will aim to understand how specific environmental stimuli change the epigenome without changing DNA sequence. In addition to featuring the classic epigenetic phenomena such as imprinting, X-inactivation, RNAi, paramutation, and transvection, several sessions will be devoted to toxins, diet, parental care, and endocrine disruptors in promoting normal development, behavior, cancer, diabetes, and aging. Examples will be drawn from model organisms in the prokaryotic, fungal, plant, and animal kingdoms. Since its inception in 1995, this conference has played a key role in moving forward the field of epigenetics, earning an international reputation for generating new research avenues and providing a unique setting for bringing together a diverse group of scientists. The 8th meeting of the Gordon Research Conference on Epigenetics will: (1) Advance understanding of epigenetic mechanisms by facilitating the exchange of information and ideas from experts working in a wide array of epigenetic systems; (2) Introduce new issues and new questions that push the boundaries of epigenetics, and at the same time, provide a venue in which alternative viewpoints can be heard and discussed openly; and (3) Promote the careers of young investigators, including students, postdoctoral fellows, and new principal investigators including underrepresented minorities.