Gibert Jean-Michel, Peronnet Frédérique
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire de Biologie du Développement (LBD), Institut de Biologie Paris Seine (IBPS), Sorbonne Université, 75005 Paris, France.
Insects. 2021 Sep 29;12(10):884. doi: 10.3390/insects12100884.
has played a paramount role in epigenetics, the study of changes in gene function inherited through mitosis or meiosis that are not due to changes in the DNA sequence. By analyzing simple phenotypes, such as the bristle position or cuticle pigmentation, as read-outs of regulatory processes, the identification of mutated genes led to the discovery of major chromatin regulators. These are often conserved in distantly related organisms such as vertebrates or even plants. Many of them deposit, recognize, or erase post-translational modifications on histones (histone marks). Others are members of chromatin remodeling complexes that move, eject, or exchange nucleosomes. We review the role of . research in three epigenetic fields: Heterochromatin formation and maintenance, the repression of transposable elements by piRNAs, and the regulation of gene expression by the antagonistic Polycomb and Trithorax complexes. We then describe how genetic tools available in allowed to examine the role of histone marks and show that some histone marks are dispensable for gene regulation, whereas others play essential roles. Next, we describe how has been particularly important in defining chromatin types, higher-order chromatin structures, and their dynamic changes during development. Lastly, we discuss the role of epigenetics in a changing environment.
在表观遗传学中发挥了至关重要的作用，表观遗传学是研究通过有丝分裂或减数分裂遗传的基因功能变化，而这些变化并非由DNA序列的改变引起。通过分析简单的表型，如刚毛位置或表皮色素沉着，作为调控过程的读数，突变基因的鉴定导致了主要染色质调节因子的发现。这些调节因子在脊椎动物甚至植物等远缘相关生物中通常是保守的。其中许多调节因子会在组蛋白上沉积、识别或去除翻译后修饰（组蛋白标记）。其他的则是染色质重塑复合物的成员，这些复合物会移动、排出或交换核小体。我们综述了……研究在三个表观遗传领域中的作用：异染色质的形成和维持、piRNA对转座元件的抑制以及拮抗的多梳蛋白和三胸复合物对基因表达的调控。然后我们描述了……中可用的遗传工具如何用于研究组蛋白标记的作用，并表明一些组蛋白标记对于基因调控是可有可无的，而其他一些则起着至关重要的作用。接下来，我们描述了……在定义染色质类型、高阶染色质结构及其在发育过程中的动态变化方面如何特别重要。最后，我们讨论表观遗传学在不断变化的环境中的作用。
