Chromatin Structure and Gene Expression

2 units

This special topics course will use Epigenetics ed. By Allis, Jenuwein, Reinberg, and Caparros (2007, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press) as the organizing text. Each week a faculty member will provide a background lecture on an important topic or model system, and a student will present and lead discussion of a paper from the current scientific literature related to the previous week's background lecture. Topics to be considered will include background on chromatin structure, histone modifications and histone variants; epigenetic regulation in yeast, other fungi, ciliates, flies, mammals and plants; dosage compensation in different systems; DNA methylation and imprinting in mammals; stem cells, nuclear transplantation and reprogramming; and the epigenetics of cancer and other human diseases (some variation in topics in different years). Students enrolled in the course will be required to present one paper and to come prepared to each session, with a question for discussion.