life inspired

"Researchers have identified a possible mechanism by which DNA regions that don't encode proteins can still determine phenotypic traits such as a person's height or susceptibility to a particular disease, researchers report online in Science today. The scientists found that certain chromatin modifications often considered to be epigenetic -- meaning, regulated by factors other than genetic sequence -- are in fact determined by a person's DNA. [...] If a non-coding SNP leads to a difference in chromatin structure and/or transcription factor binding, that effect can indeed be inherited, thereby providing a potential mechanism for transmission of phenotypes like disease susceptibility". Full article @ The Scientist.

Original Paper:

McDaniell et al. [2010]. "Heritable Individual-Specific and Allele-Specific Chromatin Signatures in Humans". Science. DOI: 10.1126/science.1184655

Labels: epigenetics, inheritance, non-coding DNA