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- acetylation: to introduce the acetyl radical into (a compound)
- acetyltransferases: enzymes catalyzing the transfer of an acetyl group, usually from acetyl coenzyme to another compound.
- chromatin: a complex of nucleic acids (e.g. DNA or RNA) and proteins (histones), which condenses to form a chromosome during cell division.
- CpG dinucleotide: the sequence 5' CG 3' within a longer DNA molecule. CpG dinucleotides are targets of a specific DNA methylation system/ in mammals that is important in control of gene expression.
- dizygotic twins: twins developed from two separate ooctyes fertilized at the same time.
- DNA Methylation: process by which methyl groups are added to certain nucleotide in genomic DNA; affects gene expression, as methylated DNA is not easily transcribed.
- folate: the uptake of folate by the mutant
- gene: the fundamental, physical, and functional unit of heredity. It's a segment of DNA that's responsible for the physical and inheritable characteristics of an organism.
- gene expression: the conversion of the information from the gene into mRNA via transcription and then to protein via translation resulting in the phenotypic manifestation of the gene.
- genome: complete set of genes in an organism; total genetic content to one set of chromosome.
- histones: any of various simple water-soluble proteins that are rich in the basic amino acids lysine and arginine and are complexed with DNA in the nucleosomes of eukaryotic chromatin.
- metastasizing: to spread by metastasis (change of position, state, or form b: the spread of a disease-producing agency, as cancer cells or bacteria, from the initial or primary site of disease to another part of the body).
- methionine: a crystalline sulfur-containing essential amino acid C5H11NO2S that occurs in the L-form as a constituent of many proteins (as casein and egg albumin), that is important especially as a source of sulfur for the biosynthesis of cysteine and as a source of methyl groups for transmethylation reactions (as in the biosynthesis of choline, creatine, and adrenaline), and that is used as a dietary supplement for human beings and their domestic mammals and poultry and in the treatment of fatty infiltration of the liver.
- methyl (group): a derivative of the chemical methane, CH 3 −.
- monozygotic twins: twins developed from one fertilized ooctye; they have identical genomes.
- oncogenes: a gene having the potential to cause a normal cell to become cancerous.
- oxidation: the combination or a substance forming oxide; a chemical reaction in which there is the loss of electrons or gain of oxygen, resulting in an increase in oxidation state by a molecule, atom, or ion.
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phenotype: the physical appearance or biochemical characteristic of an organism as a result of the interaction of its genotype and the environment.
genotype + environment + random variation → phenotype - Phosphorylation: the process of phosphorylating a chemical compound either by reaction with inorganic phosphate or by transfer of phosphate from another organic phosphate; the enzymatic conversion of carbohydrates into their phosphoric esters in metabolic processes (as the conversion of glucose to glucose-6-phosphate by ATP and hexokinase).
- redox cycle: (redox cycling), short for reduction-oxidation. Describes all chemical reactions in which atoms have their oxidation number (oxidation state) changed.
- transgenic: being or used to produce an organism or cell of one species into which one or more genes of other species have been incorporated.
The following are a list of epigenetic terms that were used throughout this website. The majority of the definitions are from from Biology Online (17) and NCBI (18).
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