Submitted to: Cattle: Domestication, Disease and Environment
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: June 21, 2012
Publication Date: N/A
Interpretive Summary: This is an invited book chapter. This chapter reviews the major advances in the field of epigenetics and introduces our recent research related to the field of epigenetic regulation.
Technical Abstract:
This chapter reviews the major advances in the field of epigenetics as well as the environmental impacts of cattle. Many findings from our own research endeavors related to the topic of this chapter are also introduced. The phenotypic characterization of an animal can be changed through epigenetic mechanisms such as histone posttranslational modification, MicroRNA (miRNA), and other mechanisms. The relationship between genetics and epigenetics provides transcription regulation in cattle development and growth. The multiple layers of regulatory control of gene expression provide a multitude of paths by which cells can control their responses to external stimuli or environmental stresses. The number of research efforts to discover general molecular mechanisms fundamental to epigenetic phenomena has recently exploded.