The phrase
"switch gene" refers to a specific gene that can turn other genes on or off. It acts like a switch, controlling the activity of other genes in our body. It decides whether a particular gene should be active or inactive, and this plays a crucial role in various biological processes and development.
Full definition
A new study describes research helping tease out the mechanics of how the gut microbiome communicates with the cells of its host to
switch genes on and off.
These alterations can change genetic expression, or even
switch genes off, and may be part of the explanation of how maltreatment affects the developing brain.
Understanding these epigenetic changes provides a possibility to
switch the genes back on, helping the body stop the aggressive tumors from forming.
Some of the letters serve as landing spots for proteins that
switch genes on and off, while others determine how DNA folds inside a cell.
Epigenetic mechanisms modulated by environmental cues such as diet, disease or our lifestyle take a major role in regulating the DNA
by switching genes on and off.
With chronically infected mice as their model, the researchers used a new technology called ATAC - seq to map the regulatory regions of the genome — the sections of DNA involved
in switching genes on and off — in the animals» exhausted and functional CD8 + T cells.
They noted that Tregs generally had high levels of a protein called Helios, a transcription factor that
helps switch genes on and off.
The
researchers switched these genes on and off and followed the development of the modified fish embryos under the microscope in order to determine the function of the protein ZEB1.
The team studied a set of regulatory proteins responsible
for switching genes on and off in the Drosophila embryo.
The decision whether the cells differentiate into the blood - or vessel - lineage seems to correlate with the expression of certain «
master switch genes».
«Our paper shows that transcription factors may play a completely new role in cell reprogramming: they do not
only switch genes on and off, but also promote the architectural changes necessary to modify gene expression,» states Thomas Graf, senior CRG group leader and lead investigator of this study.
(The team doesn't yet understand why, because the changed base pair lies in a region that is not translated into RNA and is not usually involved
in switching genes on and off.)
Blewitt said the gene Smchd1 — or «Smooch» as she calls it — encodes an epigenetic factor that
switched genes off to suppress their function.
The study is based on epigenetics — a scientific field that investigates gene expression in DNA
by switching genes on and off.
It seems likely that they are there to
help switch genes on or off, and to affect whether a gene is actively read or not.»
«Epigenetic factors including diet, environment, and lifestyle habits have the power to regulate our DNA by
switching genes on and off, which can influence the health of up to four generations.»
Another process called epigenetics that
switches genes on and off may explain why ho - mose - xuality runs in families.
They analyzed the results to identify where the DNA had decorations called methylation — molecules attached that
switch the gene on or off.
«We are aiming to find a way to
switch that gene on in the Cavendish through gene editing.
Sxl is a «
switch gene», meaning that Drosophila sex is determined by whether or not Sxl protein is made.
Nadeau stumbled upon one study, in mice, describing how environmental factors can tag Foxp3 with chemical markers that tell T - cell precursors to
switch the gene on or off.
It's like tagging them with Post-It notes that tell a cell to
switch a gene on or off.
The methyl groups that
switch genes on and off are not made by the body, instead we get them by eating foods rich in nutrients such as choline and folate, which are found in raw liver and cruciferous vegetables like cabbage and broccoli.
The methylation of specific nucleotide bases in DNA often serves to
switch genes off.
The surprises are apparently far from over: Another kind of RNA can detect levels of small molecules that help a cell run smoothly, and
switch genes on or off depending on the cell's needs.
That changes the shape of the mRNA and
switches a gene off, or occasionally on.
You'll learn how individuals with the exact same DNA can follow vastly different developmental paths due to cellular changes that
switch genes on and off — and how new research is revealing that even the genes of identicals are not always the same.
Writing online in the journal Molecular Cell, a team of researchers from the University of Wisconsin - Madison describes new research helping tease out the mechanics of how the gut microbiome communicates with the cells of its host to
switch genes on and off.
In the new model of biology, proteins still do the hard work of catalyzing reactions and
switching genes on and off, but the microRNAs regulate the amount of proteins and hence how much of each specific job is done.
DNA packaging bundles up chromosomes, packing most of the DNA away but leaving some regions accessible to the machinery that
switches genes on and initiates protein production, so accessibility has a profound effect on gene activity.
And it was in the late 90's when mC was recognized as the main cause of epigenetic mechanisms: it is able to
switch genes on or off depending on the physiological needs of each tissue.
The new consortium proposes to characterize and tag the 1486 known transcription factors — proteins that
switch genes on and off — in the mouse genome, as well as an estimated 600 coregulators that chip in to control cellular and biological functions through networks called regulons.
Experiments in mice suggested an important role in long - term memory for CREB, one of many so - called transcription factors, proteins that
switch genes on and off.
Transcription factors, the tiny proteins that
switch genes on or off in the nucleus of cells, are considered unreachable molecular targets for drugs attempting to treat medical conditions.
Hart and Vile hooked up
the switch gene to the marker gene and injected the DNA directly into two types of mouse tumour.
Biochemists at the University of Wisconsin - Madison have created the first atlas that maps where molecular tools that can
switch genes on and off will bind to the human genome.
Writing online Nov. 23 in the journal Molecular Cell, a team of researchers from the University of Wisconsin — Madison describes new research helping tease out the mechanics of how the gut microbiome communicates with the cells of its host to
switch genes on and off.
HNF - 4α controls gene expression in the liver and pancreas,
switching genes on or off as needed.
The team reasoned that they might be able to use
the switch gene to activate not just tyrosinase, but a range of other genes too — for example, genes that would stimulate a stronger immune response to cancer cells.
But this study showed an unexpected physical interaction between Pax3, p53, and Mdm2 that did not involve attaching to DNA or
switching genes «on» or «off.»