Epigenetics: A Reference Manual

Epigenetics is the study of changes in gene expression caused by mechanisms other than changes in the DNA sequence. Epigenetics is a rapidly advancing field with an increasing impact on biological and medical research. The editors of this book have assembled top-quality scientists from diverse fields of epigenetics to produce a major new volume. Comprehensive and cutting-edge, the 26 chapters in this book constitute a key reference manual for everyone involved in epigenetics, DNA methylation, cancer epigenetics, and related fields. Topics include: early life environment * DNA methylation and behavior * histone acetyltransferase biology * transgenerational epigenetic inheritance * mammalian X inactivation * epigenetic memory in plants * polycomb-group regulation * centromeres and telomeres * DNA sequence contribution to nucleosome distribution * macrosatellite epigenetics * histones * cell-fate specification and reprogramming * DNA methylation in cancer * variant histone H2A and cancer development * RNA modification * paramutation in plants * DNMT3L dependent methylation during gametogenesis * non-coding RNA * bisulphite-enabled technologies * rapid analysis of DNA methylation * microarray mapping * DNA methylation profiling * ChIP-sequencing * genome-wide DNA methylation analysis * epigenetics in maize. In addition there are useful chapters on bioinformatics in epigenomics, online resources and tools for epigeneticists, and educational resources for epigenetics. This up-to-date reference manual is an essential book for those working in the field and for scientists in other disciplines. It represents a major information resource on the fascinating and fast-moving field of epigenetics.