File:Epigenetics - monozygous twins.jpg

DNA methylation in young and old monozygous twins

Chromosome regions with differential DNA methylation in young and old monozygous twins.

Significant DNA methylation changes are indicated as thick red and green blocks in the ideograms.

The 3-year-old twins have a very similar DNA methylation (yellow).

The 50-year-old twin pair shows abundant changes in the pattern of DNA methylation (green=hypermethylation and red=hypomethylation).

"...We found that, although twins are epigenetically indistinguishable during the early years of life, older monozygous twins exhibited remarkable differences in their overall content and genomic distribution of 5-methylcytosine DNA and histone acetylation, affecting their gene-expression portrait. These findings indicate how an appreciation of epigenetics is missing from our understanding of how different phenotypes can be originated from the same genotype."

Reference

Fraga MF, Ballestar E, Paz MF, Ropero S, Setien F, Ballestar ML, Heine-Suñer D, Cigudosa JC, Urioste M, Benitez J, Boix-Chornet M, Sanchez-Aguilera A, Ling C, Carlsson E, Poulsen P, Vaag A, Stephan Z, Spector TD, Wu YZ, Plass C & Esteller M. (2005). Epigenetic differences arise during the lifetime of monozygotic twins. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. , 102, 10604-9. PMID: 16009939 DOI.

Copyright

(2005) National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A

Cite this page: Hill, M.A. (2024, April 19) Embryology Epigenetics - monozygous twins.jpg. Retrieved from https://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/embryology/index.php/File:Epigenetics_-_monozygous_twins.jpg

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