Mammalian epigenetics in biology and medicine

摘要

In modern biology, Mendelian genetics provides a magnificent framework to deal with the causal relationship between genetic mutations and biological phenotypes, thus greatly promoting our understanding of developmental process of plants and animals. By analysing such mutants, as well as the etiology of human genetic diseases, we can identify the responsible genes. This type of thinking provided strong arguments for the human genome project, starting in the 1990s following several genome projects of other simpler organisms. The genome comprises all the genes in the organism and is a blueprint controlling development, growth and behaviour.