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Lecturer(s)
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Pečinka Aleš, doc. Mgr. Ph.D.
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Course content
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The epigenetics, according to Conrad Waddington, was combined with the Mendelian genetics, which is in principle preformistic. Later, when molecular mechanisms of epigenetics were gradually discovered, the term epigenetics is used to describe chromatin changes responsible for gene activity/silencing. Most recently, the meaning of epigenetics is applied to summarize all events and/or mechanisms that cannot be explained by classical (Gregor Mendel) and/or molecular (James Watson) genetics. In fact, epigenetics describes rather strange types of inheritance of acquired characters (Jean-Baptiste Lamarck). Now epigenetics is a branch of genetics that studies changes of mitotically and/or meiotically inherited (transmitted) traits, which occur without a change of primary genetic information (order of nucleotides in DNA molecules). If we want to speak about the mechanisms of epigenetic inheritance, we have to stress the methylation of cytosine in DNA chains, unusual roles of untranslated RNA molecules, variable chemical modifications of nucleosomal histones, and binding of many regulatory proteins (e.g., Polycomb) to promoter gene regions. Epigenetically controlled traits occur irregularly, and their degree of expression is variable. This means that such labile expressivity is highly influenced by environment, and organisms can represent mosaics of cells with different expression of specific alleles. The classic textbook example of this mosaic phenomenon is the position variegation in fruit fly, in which expression of the gene controlling synthesis of eye pigment is variable due to possible epigenetic silencing as influenced by chromatin neighbourhood (euchromatin /heterochromatin). Classification of epigenetics can be realised according to different criteria, such as mechanisms of inheritance, or frequency and stability of epigenetic change.
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Learning activities and teaching methods
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Monologic Lecture(Interpretation, Training), Dialogic Lecture (Discussion, Dialog, Brainstorming)
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Learning outcomes
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Introduction into principles of inheritance of epigenetic information, i.e. heritable information that is not coded by DNA sequennce.
Student is able to (after attending the course): - Explain the principles of Epigenetics. - Recall and describe examples of epigenetically controlled loci.
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Prerequisites
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unspecified
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Assessment methods and criteria
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Oral exam
oral exam in extent of the lectures
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Recommended literature
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ALLIS ,C.D., JENUWEIN, T., REINBERG, D., CAPARROS, M.L. (2007). Epigenetics. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, New York.
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Mozgova, I., Hennig L. (2015). The Polycomb Group Protein Regulatory Network. Annual Review of Plant Biology 66:269-296.
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Pecinka, A., Chevalier, C., Colas, I., Kalantidis, K., Varotto, S., Krugman, T., Michailidis, C., Vallés, M.-P., Mu?oz, A., Pradillo, M. (2019). Chromatin dynamics during interphase and cell division: similarities and differences between model and crop plants..
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Vyskot, B. (2010). Epigenetika. Olomouc: Univerzita Palackého v Olomouci.
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