EPIGENETICS: The Genetic Wild Card
This is where epigenetics comes in. Epigenetics refers to
things that reside above the control of the expression of the genome. In today’s
term we might say that the genes are the computer hardware and the epigenetic
controlling factors are software that tells the computer hardware how to perform.
So, while the epigenome doesn’t change
our DNA, it’s responsible for deciding what genes will be expressed in your
body’s cells. Here’s how it works: each cell with all of your DNA
waits for outside instruction to give it instructions. This comes in the form
of a methyl group, a compound made from carbon and hydrogen. These methyl
groups bind to the genes, letting them know when to express themselves and when
to stay dormant, and they bind differently depending on where in the body the
DNA is.
Histones also play a role in epigenetics and how genes
express themselves. Histones are the protein molecules that DNA wind itself
around. How tightly wound the DNA is around the histone plays a role in how
strongly a gene expresses itself, So the methyl groups tell the cell what it is
(“you’re a skin cell, and here’s what you do”), and histones decide how much
the cell is going to crank up the volume, so to speak. Every cell in your body
has this methyl and histone combination, instructing it what to
do and how much to do. Without the epigenome giving instructions to your
cells, the genome, our bodies wouldn’t know what to do.
Coming up… how our lifestyle, environment and our health
choices influences the gene expressions, stay tuned!!
reference:
Deeply holistic
Jeffrey S bland
Dr Axe
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