Chatterjee Aniruddha, Morison Ian M
Bioinformation. 2011;7(7):369-70. doi: 10.6026/97320630007369. Epub 2011 Dec 10.
Monozygotic twins are considered to be genetically identical, yet can show high discordance in their phenotypes and disease susceptibility. Several studies have emphasized the influence of external factors and the role of epigenetic polymorphism in conferring this variability. However, some recent high-resolution studies on DNA methylation show contradicting evidence, which poses questions on the extent of epigenetic variability between twins. The advent of next-generation sequencing technologies now allow us to interrogate multiple epigenomes on a massive scale and understand the role of epigenetic modification, especially DNA methylation, in regulating complex traits. This article briefly discusses the recent key findings, unsolved questions in the area, and speculates on the future directions in the field.
同卵双胞胎被认为在基因上是完全相同的,但在表型和疾病易感性方面却可能表现出高度不一致。多项研究强调了外部因素的影响以及表观遗传多态性在造成这种变异性方面的作用。然而,最近一些关于DNA甲基化的高分辨率研究显示出相互矛盾的证据,这对双胞胎之间表观遗传变异的程度提出了疑问。新一代测序技术的出现使我们现在能够大规模地研究多个表观基因组,并了解表观遗传修饰,尤其是DNA甲基化,在调节复杂性状中的作用。本文简要讨论了该领域最近的关键发现、尚未解决的问题,并对该领域的未来方向进行了推测。