Genome Tectonics: Linking Dynamic Genome Organization with Cellular Nutrients

Abstract

Background: Our daily intake of food provides nutrients for the maintenance of health, growth, and development. The field of nutrigenomics aims to link dietary intake/nutrients to changes in epigenetic status and gene expression.

Summary: Although the relationship between our diet and our genes in under intense investigation, there is still a significant aspect of our genome that has received little attention with regard to this. In the past 15 years, the importance of genome organization has become increasingly evident, with research identifying small-scale local changes to large segments of the genome dynamically repositioning within the nucleus in response to/or mediating change in gene expression. The discovery of these dynamic processes and organization maybe as significant as dynamic plate tectonics is to geology, there is little information tying genome organization to specific nutrients or dietary intake.

Key messages: Here, we detail key principles of genome organization and structure, with emphasis on genome folding and organization, and link how these contribute to our future understand of nutrigenomics.

Keywords: Dietary compounds; Folding; Gene expression; Genome organization; Nutrigenomics.