Gene Expression and DNA Sequencing. Not Just For The Geek. Ive had a lot of questions come about regarding genes, and the expression of genes. The main reason this has been of topic is because I have stated to several that we may be stuck with the genes we have, but we can change the expression of those genes. I wanted to quickly go a little deeper into this topic and explain how gene expression changes based upon methylation. I will do my best to keep it simplistic. I think most of you will find this extremely fascinating when you see how this has a great deal to do with who you and your kids are today based upon diet and lifestyle. Lets get the complicated stuff out of the way first. One of the ways gene expression can be controlled is through Epigenetics. (Epigenetics is the alteration of gene expression without changing the sequence of DNA) There are several ways that this can be done. One way is called Methylation (Methylation is a process in which methyl groups are added onto your DNA which can then affect how your genes are transcribed) Its important to note that the chromosomes you inherited from your mother are Methylated differently then the ones you inherited from your father. This is called genomic imprinting. This means that the genes you inherited from your father will be expressed differently than the genes you inherited from your mother. Then we have Heavy Methylation which is associated with DNA that is NOT expressed which is called transcriptionally inactive DNA. Meaning that it cannot be read. So I will use a book to explain this further. Imagine a book with 1,000 pages, and 20-30 pages are glued together from each chapter. This would be seen as Heavy Metylation. Whereas the glue holding the pages together would be the heavy Methylation and the book in its entirety would represent the DNA sequencing of the host. In short this would impede our ability to properly read the book. The Methylation patterns would be whats preventing us from properly reading the book or DNA in this case. One way that Methylation can happen is through imprinting as mentioned above. Another way Metylation can happen is through lifestyle. Some of those ways would include: smoking, stress and starvation. Especially during early development. Second-hand smoke would play a huge role in this as well, or a mother who drinks or experiences a high amount of stress during pregnancy can have a massive effect on the new being. Being deprived of nutrients causes many things. First of all there are thrifty genes (gene expression that changes specifically to adapts to suit famine or deprived environmental settings) that are activated and other genes are Methylated. This will not only change your gene expression but will also affect any children you might have later in the future. There have been some extensive studies done on children that grew up under the conditions of starvation during the great depression. They know, due to these studies, that the Methylation patterns created, due to those conditions, also affected the Methylation patters of future generations to come both children and grandchildren. So whats important to note about this is that they all had the same genes, however the expression of those genes varied based upon the Methylation patters. This can also have a huge affect on a persons phenotype (the set of observable characteristics of an individual resulting from the interaction of its genotype with the environment) even though they have the same genes, but as noted the expression is different. On the flip side of this coin a few other things that can change gene expression is exercise, proper diet, proper nutrient intake, a stable and clean environment, and stress elimination. I hope this was understandable and that those who read it found vale and worth in it. I will do a follow up on this topic if requested and would be more than happy to go deeper into this topic. Respectfully, Burke Bryant Hacking Science & Medicine Because You Deserve To Know Melissa Sterling Darlene Ondi
Posted on: Tue, 12 Nov 2013 00:06:21 +0000
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