Epigenomics on biology

Is DNA no longer the master regulator to life? Why does the same DNA sequence result in different phenotypes? Is it possible to regulate genes without altering the underlying DNA sequence, leading to heritable phenotype changes? That is “Epigenetic regulation”, a mechanism that does not involve any change in the DNA sequences. Epigenetic factors include DNA methylation, histone modification, and small non-coding RNA. They dress DNA sequences into different looks in response to the environments. A honeybee colony provides a stunning example of how genome interacts with the environment through epigenetic factors. Queen bees and worker bees share identical genetic sequence but have entirely different destinies, which may be due to their food – royal jelly. Through the mouse experiments, scientists found that the parenting experience would influence the behavior in generations. In addition to these well-known examples, how do epigenetics impact plants, and fungi? In our lab, we develop bioinformatic approaches to uncover the mystery of epigenetics.