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      Epigenetics in Insects: Genome Regulation and the Generation of Phenotypic Diversity

      1 , 2 , 3
      Annual Review of Entomology
      Annual Reviews

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          Abstract

          Epigenetic inheritance is fundamentally important to cellular differentiation and developmental plasticity. In this review, we provide an introduction to the field of molecular epigenetics in insects. Epigenetic information is passed across cell divisions through the methylation of DNA, the modification of histone proteins, and the activity of noncoding RNAs. Much of our knowledge of insect epigenetics has been gleaned from a few model species. However, more studies of epigenetic information in traditionally nonmodel taxa will help advance our understanding of the developmental and evolutionary significance of epigenetic inheritance in insects. To this end, we also provide a brief overview of techniques for profiling and perturbing individual facets of the epigenome. Doing so in diverse cellular, developmental, and taxonomic contexts will collectively help shed new light on how genome regulation results in the generation of diversity in insect form and function.

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          Origins and Mechanisms of miRNAs and siRNAs.

          Over the last decade, approximately 20-30 nucleotide RNA molecules have emerged as critical regulators in the expression and function of eukaryotic genomes. Two primary categories of these small RNAs--short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs)--act in both somatic and germline lineages in a broad range of eukaryotic species to regulate endogenous genes and to defend the genome from invasive nucleic acids. Recent advances have revealed unexpected diversity in their biogenesis pathways and the regulatory mechanisms that they access. Our understanding of siRNA- and miRNA-based regulation has direct implications for fundamental biology as well as disease etiology and treatment.
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            Charting histone modifications and the functional organization of mammalian genomes.

            A succession of technological advances over the past decade have enabled researchers to chart maps of histone modifications and related chromatin structures with increasing accuracy, comprehensiveness and throughput. The resulting data sets highlight the interplay between chromatin and genome function, dynamic variations in chromatin structure across cellular conditions, and emerging roles for large-scale domains and higher-ordered chromatin organization. Here we review a selection of recent studies that have probed histone modifications and successive layers of chromatin structure in mammalian genomes, the patterns that have been identified and future directions for research.
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              RNA-mediated epigenetic regulation of gene expression.

              Diverse classes of RNA, ranging from small to long non-coding RNAs, have emerged as key regulators of gene expression, genome stability and defence against foreign genetic elements. Small RNAs modify chromatin structure and silence transcription by guiding Argonaute-containing complexes to complementary nascent RNA scaffolds and then mediating the recruitment of histone and DNA methyltransferases. In addition, recent advances suggest that chromatin-associated long non-coding RNA scaffolds also recruit chromatin-modifying complexes independently of small RNAs. These co-transcriptional silencing mechanisms form powerful RNA surveillance systems that detect and silence inappropriate transcription events, and provide a memory of these events via self-reinforcing epigenetic loops.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Annual Review of Entomology
                Annu. Rev. Entomol.
                Annual Reviews
                0066-4170
                1545-4487
                January 07 2019
                January 07 2019
                : 64
                : 1
                : 185-203
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA;
                [2 ]Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Griffin, Georgia 30223, USA;
                [3 ]School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA;
                Article
                10.1146/annurev-ento-011118-111914
                30285490
                fe4966a2-8da6-46f5-8361-05d6d20b165c
                © 2019
                History

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