Revisiting Epigenetics Fundamentals and Its Biomedical Implications

Abstract

In light of the post-genomic era, epigenetics brings about an opportunity to better understand how the molecular machinery works and is led by a complex dynamic set of mechanisms, often intricate and complementary in many aspects. In particular, epigenetics links developmental biology and genetics, as well as many other areas of knowledge. The present work highlights substantial scopes and relevant discoveries related to the development of the term from its first notions. To our understanding, the concept of epigenetics needs to be revisited, as it is one of the most relevant and multifaceted terms in human knowledge. To redirect future novel experimental or theoretical efforts, it is crucial to compile all significant issues that could impact human and ecological benefit in the most precise and accurate manner. In this paper, the reader can find one of the widest compilations of the landmarks and epistemic considerations of the knowledge of epigenetics across the history of biology from the earliest epigenetic formulation to genetic determinism until the present. In the present work, we link the current body of knowledge and earlier pre-genomic concepts in order to propose a new definition of epigenetics that is faithful to its regulatory nature.

Keywords: biomedicine; epigenetics; epistemology; omics.

Figure 1

(AI) Growing phenomena of epigenetic spectra spotted across lifetime versus genetics as central control of information in multicellular organisms; (AII) correlation of genetics and epigenetics understood under molecular structural view; (B) epigenetics in life span across inherited generations and parallel cell division.

Figure 2

Scheme broadly depicts the molecular mechanisms and key factors involved in epigenetics, differentiated from conventional genetics.

Figure 3

Scheme depicts the interrelation among main variables existing in a species, and in one of them, the epigenetics term changed through transcriptional/translational/biomolecular dynamics. The bilateral flux of information occurs within the cell in genetics and a wide range of biomolecules. On the other hand, the environment can influence genetics but not vice versa, as the genetic code cannot influence the environment.

Figure 4

History timeline per author, naming their main work or contribution to epigenetics [10,14,15,19,21,22,30,37,38,40,41,112,113,114,115,116].

Figure 5

Scheme proposing a new term, transcriptional and translational dynamics instead of the pre-genomic era of the Waddington term, by alluding to a functional, integrative, and unified perspective in the current post-genomic era.