Overview
- Editors:
-
-
Rolf Ohlsson
-
Dept. of Animal Development and Genetics, University of Uppsala, Uppsala, Sweden
- This is the first book to take an interdisciplinary approach to genomic imprinting
Access this book
Other ways to access
Table of contents (14 chapters)
-
Front Matter
Pages I-XIII
-
- Robert Trivers, Austin Burt
Pages 1-21
-
- Joachim Messing, Ueli Grossniklaus
Pages 23-40
-
-
-
- Bernhard Horsthemke, Azim Surani, Tharapell James, Rolf Ohlsson
Pages 91-118
-
-
-
-
- Aharon Razin, Ruth Shemer
Pages 189-204
-
-
- Tatiana I. Gerasimova, Victor G. Corces
Pages 229-249
-
- C. Cristofre Martin, Carmen Sapienza
Pages 251-270
-
- Andràs Pà ldi, Yann Jouvenot
Pages 271-282
-
- Wallace F. Marshall, John W. Sedat
Pages 283-301
-
Back Matter
Pages 303-330
About this book
The form and function of every living organism on the earth depends on the complex regulation of gene expression. This is carried out by controlling and interdigitating spatial and temporal patterns of gene activity during the life time of eukaryotic organisms. This is most dramatically apparent during early stages of development, when new types of cells and organs are being formed, often during very short time spans. To achieve this, it is vital that developmentally important genes can be kept in inactive or active states which are stably inherited in the soma. Indeed, it is now wellknown that the propen sity for a gene to be transcribed or silenced is stably propagated through many cell generations, even from parent to progeny. This phenomenon constitutes a type of extragenetic or epigenetic memory of cell identity and developmental potential which has been fundamental to the evolution of complex lifeforms, such as the reader of this book. This monograph focuses on a particular aspect of the epigenetic control of gene function: genomic imprinting. This defines a phenomenon where some genes or whole chromosomes can be silenced, activated, or even deleted depending on their parental origin. The impact of genomic imprinting is most clearly seen in the areas of cancer, clinical genetics, and development. Many of the processes associated with genomic imprinting can be observed in plants, yeast and man, for example, and may constitute, therefore, principles which are very conserved on an evolutionary scale.
Editors and Affiliations
-
Dept. of Animal Development and Genetics, University of Uppsala, Uppsala, Sweden
Rolf Ohlsson
