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Environmental sensing by chromatin: An epigenetic contribution to evolutionary change
Author(s) -
Turner Bryan M.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/j.febslet.2010.11.041
Subject(s) - epigenetics , chromatin , biology , function (biology) , phenotype , gene , gene expression , regulation of gene expression , natural selection , epigenesis , genetics , computational biology , evolutionary biology , selection (genetic algorithm) , dna methylation , computer science , artificial intelligence
Chromatin structure and function are regulated by families of protein‐modifying enzymes that are sensitive to a variety of metabolic and environmental agents. These enzymes, and proteins that read the modifications they maintain, constitute a system by which environmental agents, such as chemical toxins and dietary components, can directly regulate patterns of gene expression. This review describes this environmental sensing system from an evolutionary perspective. It is proposed that persistent environmentally‐induced changes in gene expression patterns can cause changes in phenotype that are acted upon by natural selection, and that epigenetic processes can potentially play central roles in evolution.