The University of Melbourne
Epigenetic Control of Gene Expression
The University of Melbourne

Epigenetic Control of Gene Expression

Taught in English

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48,019 already enrolled

Course

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals

Dr. Marnie Blewitt

Instructor: Dr. Marnie Blewitt

4.8

(791 reviews)

17 hours to complete
3 weeks at 5 hours a week
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace

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6 quizzes

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There are 7 modules in this course

An introduction to and definition of epigenetic control of gene expression, and its importance in normal development. We will learn what chromatin is, and how its composition and packaging can alter gene expression. We’ll also discuss the best-characterised epigenetic modification, DNA methylation, and how it is not only implicated in regulating gene expression, but also in maintaining genome stability.

What's included

7 videos5 readings1 quiz

We’ll discuss the molecular mechanisms for regulating gene expression in some detail, from how the DNA is packaged at a local level, right up to how the chromatin is positioned within the nucleus. We’ll learn about the chromatin modifications implicated in gene silencing and activation, the role of non-coding RNA, and higher order chromatin structures. This week will provide you with a good understanding of the basic mechanisms that will help you understand the processes we discuss throughout the rest of the course.

What's included

9 videos1 reading1 quiz

X chromosome inactivation is a really well-characterised epigenetic process that is now used as a model system to study epigenetic processes that are relevant more broadly. This is because it uses many epigenetic mechanisms, at many levels, to achieve really stable silencing of a whole chromosome. We’ll learn about this process and how it occurs in a mouse in great detail, which will greatly add to the mechanistic understanding gained in week two. We will then briefly discuss alternate mechanisms for dosage compensation that occur in other organisms.

What's included

12 videos1 reading1 quiz

We’ll learn about the two important periods during development for the erasure and resetting of the epigenome. There are two well-characterised features that are treated differently during epigenetic reprogramming; imprinted genes and repeats. We’ll learn about mechanisms for genomic imprinting, and study three examples in more depth.

What's included

6 videos1 reading1 quiz

We start to look at some of the big areas of interest in human epigenetics, including environmental influence on the epigenome, reprogramming of somatic cells back to stem cells, cloning, and potential transgenerational epigenetic inheritance. We’ll discuss what is known to happen to the epigenome during these process, and look at some seminal case studies.

What's included

6 videos1 reading1 quiz

A look at the mechanisms underlying some of the observations we discussed in week 5, through the study of model organisms. We’ll learn about metastable epialleles, which have allowed the study of transgenerational epigenetics in mice, and provided some evidence for transgenerational epigenetics in mammals.

What's included

8 videos1 reading1 quiz

This week we’ll bring together much of what we’ve learned in previous weeks of the course, to understand how the epigenome is affected, and can also affect, cancer development and progression. We’ll then go on to discuss the potential therapeutic benefits that can come from using epigenetic biomarkers, and targeting epigenetic modifiers in cancer.

What's included

11 videos3 readings1 peer review

Instructor

Instructor ratings
4.9 (131 ratings)
Dr. Marnie Blewitt
The University of Melbourne
1 Course48,019 learners

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