Sneha Ganguly*

New York University, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, India

*Corresponding Author: Sneha Ganguly, New York University, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, India.

Received: January 27, 2022; Published: February 14, 2022

Abstract

Epigenetics is the study of inheritable changes in gene expression or the gene phenotype, which does not involve any change in the DNA sequence. The “epigenetics” word implies “in addition to changes in the gene sequence”. It means that these changes are hereditary if the germ cells are involved that it usually involves transmission from the parents to the daughter cells. Originally it was meant for changes across generations, but now it includes changes due to cell differentiation in one organism. Epigenetic mechanisms aid in regulating gene expression within the cell as well as silencing of certain sequences. In certain cases the effects of epigenetic changes can be reversed. These changes usually involve addition of chemical groups to the DNA sequence, such as methylation, acetylation (addition of acetyl group), ubiquitinylation (addition of ubiquitin protein, they tag protein for proteosomal degradation), phosphorylation (addition of phosphate group).

Keywords:Epigenetics; Mechanisms; Biological System

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Citation

Citation: Sneha Ganguly. “A Holistic Approach to Understanding Epigenetics, its Mechanisms and Effects in the Biological System". Acta Scientific Microbiology 5.3 (2022): 09-22.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2022 Sneha Ganguly. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.