Epigenetics

by Hallgrimsson, Benedikt; Hall, Brian K.

• ISBN13: 9780520267091
• ISBN10: 0520267095
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-04-11
• Publisher: Univ of California Pr

Summary

Illuminating the processes and patterns that link genotype to phenotype, epigenetics seeks to explain features, characters, and developmental mechanisms that can only be understood in terms of interactions that arise above the level of the gene. With chapters written by leading authorities, this volume offers a broad integrative survey of epigenetics. Approaching this complex subject from a variety of perspectives, it presents a broad, historically grounded view that demonstrates the utility of this approach for understanding complex biological systems in development, disease, and evolution. Chapters cover such topics as morphogenesis and organ formation, conceptual foundations, and cell differentiation, and together demonstrate that the integration of epigenetics into mainstream developmental biology is essential for answering fundamental questions about how phenotypic traits are produced.

Author Biography

Benedikt Hallgrmsson, Professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy at the University of Calgary, is coeditor of Variation: A Central Concept in Biology and Advanced Imaging in Biology and Medicine: Technology, Software Environments, Applications. Brian K. Hall is University Research Professor Emeritus at Dalhousie University. His latest book is Evolution: Principles and Processes.

Table of Contents

Contributors	p. vii
Introduction	p. 1
Historical and Philosophical Foundations
A Brief History of the Term and Concept Epigenetics	p. 9
Heuristic Reductionism and the Relative Significance of Epigenetic Inheritance in Evolution	p. 14
Approaches to Epigenetics
The Epigenetics of Genomic Imprinting: Core Epigenetic Processes are Conserved in Mammals, Insects, and Plants	p. 43
Methylation Mapping in Humans	p. 70
Asexuality and Epigenetic Variation	p. 87
Epigenesis, Preformation, and the Humpty Dumpty Problem	p. 103
A Principle of Developmental Inertia	p. 116
Epigenetics of Vertebrate Organ Development
The Role of Epigenetics in Nervous System Development	p. 137
Morphogenesis of Pigment Patterns: Experimental and Modeling Approaches	p. 164
Epigenetic Interactions of the Cardiac Neural Crest	p. 181
Epigenetics in Bone and Cartilage Development	p. 195
Muscle-Bone Interactions and The Development of Skeletal Phenotype: Jaw Muscles and the Skull	p. 221
Evolution of the Apical Ectoderm in the Developing Vertebrate Limb	p. 238
Role of Skeletal Muscle in the Epigenetic Shaping of Organs, Tissues, and Cell Fate Choices	p. 256
Epigenetics in Evolution and Disease
Epigenetic Integration, Complexity, and Evolvability of the Head: Rethinking the Functional Matrix Hypothesis	p. 271
Epigenetic Interactions: The Developmental Route to Functional Integration	p. 290
Epigenetic Contributions to Adaptive Radiation: Insights from Threespine Stickleback	p. 317
Learning, Developmental Plasticity, and the Rate of Morphological Evolution	p. 337
Epigenetics: Adaptation or Contingency?	p. 357
The Epigenetics of Dysmorphology: Craniosynostosis as an Example	p. 377
Epigenetics of Human Disease	p. 398
Epigenetics: The Context of Development	p. 424
Index	p. 439
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