An ambitious EC-funded research initiative on epigenetics advancing towards systems biology

BitesizeBio blog, by Judith R. Brouwer, June 04, 2012
bitesizebio link

BitesizeBio blog, by Judith R. Brouwer, June 05, 2012
bitesizebio link

BitesizeBio blog, by Judith R. Brouwer, June 06, 2012
bitesizebio link

BitesizeBio blog, by Judith R. Brouwer, June 07, 2012
bitesizebio link

The lack of a consistent naming convention for histone variants has led to much confusion for histone researchers in recent years, and has also led to problems concerning the similarity of names and incorrect attributions of orthology or common function. Faced with this challenge, attendees of the EMBO Workshop on Histone Variants held last year have developed consistent but flexible naming rules that are both informative and database-searchable. The comprehensive review, published in BioMed Central’s open access journal Epigenetics & Chromatin, proposes a new, unified, phylogeny-based nomenclature for histone variants.
Epigenetics & Chromatin link

Highlights and Preview in Molecular Cell “PARP1-PARylation Promotes Silent Locus Transmission in the Nucleolus: the Suspicion Confirmed”. Isabelle et al. Molecular Cell (2012) 45, 706-707.
Cell link

Cover page of March 30, 2012 issue.
Cell link

This work provides evidence of the role of PARP1 in heterochromatin formation providing novel insights of how epigenetic marks are transmitted during each cell cycle. It's also featured on the cover of Molecular Cell.
Guetg, C. Scheifele, F., Rosenthal, F., Hottiger, M.O. and Santoro, R. Inheritance of silent rDNA chromatin is mediated by PARP1 via non-coding RNA. Molecular Cell (2012) 45, 790-800.
Cell link

Also includes a video of different experts explaining their definition of "epigenetics".
sciencemag link

The March 2011 Special Issue on Epigenetics & Chromatin brings us a collection of authoritative reviews on diverse topics in this rapidly evolving field. The accompanying web focus presents additional links to related articles in this area from across Nature Publishing Group.
Nature link

New aspects of DNA methylation dynamics have been revealed with 2 new studies, including the identification of a new class that they termed low-methylated regions (LMRs) in ESCs.

Original Articles:

Stadler M. B. et al. DNA-binding factors shape the mouse methylome at distal regulatory regions.
Nature 14 Dec 2011
Nature link

Ziller M. J. et al. Genomic distribution and inter-sample variation of non-CpG methylation across human cell types PLoS Genet. 8 Dec 2011

How do genes move from one nuclear compartment to another? For Polycomb-regulated genes, it depends on which noncoding RNA is bound to PC2, explains Geoff Rosenfeld in this issue's PaperClip.
Link to paperclip archive

Cell 2011 Nov 11;147(4):773-88.

Yang L, et. al. ncRNA- and Pc2 Methylation-Dependent Gene Relocation between Nuclear Structures Mediates Gene Activation Programs.
pubmed link