Genetic and Epigenetic Regulation of Gene Expression

A special issue of Biology (ISSN 2079-7737). This special issue belongs to the section "Genetics and Genomics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2026 | Viewed by 446

Special Issue Editor

Department of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
Interests: agricultural genomics; allelic imbalance; DNA methylation; genomic imprinting
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue explores the mechanisms controlling when, where, and how genes are expressed to shape cellular and organismal functions. The genetic regulation of gene expression includes DNA sequences, such as promoters, enhancers, insulators, and small RNA target sequences, as well as cis-regulatory polymorphisms within them, that modulate transcriptional activity and transcript stability as well as maturation. It also involves a combination of transcription factors, cofactors, and RNA-binding proteins interacting with these sequences to modulate gene activity. In parallel, epigenetic mechanisms affect gene expression through modifications, such as chromatin remodeling, DNA methylation, histone modifications, and the activities of non-coding RNAs. These epigenetic changes are essential for developmental differentiation, responses to environmental stimuli, and the maintenance of genome stability. Furthermore, they can be heritable, reprogrammable, and reversible, providing an additional layer of regulatory complexity. Advances in technologies, like next-generation sequencing, single-cell genomics, and epigenomic profiling, have significantly deepened our understanding of these regulatory systems. This Special Issue aims to elucidate further the molecular, cellular, and systemic principles underlying the genetic and epigenetic regulation of gene expression, with potential applications in agricultural genomics, personalized medicine, and biotechnology.

Dr. Xu Wang
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • allele-specific expression
  • cis-regulatory elements
  • RNA maturation and stability
  • DNA methylation
  • histone modifications
  • chromatin remodeling
  • transcription factors
  • non-coding RNA
  • small RNA

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

22 pages, 1455 KiB  
Review
Cross-Kingdom DNA Methylation Dynamics: Comparative Mechanisms of 5mC/6mA Regulation and Their Implications in Epigenetic Disorders
by Yu Liu, Ying Wang, Dapeng Bao, Hongyu Chen, Ming Gong, Shujing Sun and Gen Zou
Biology 2025, 14(5), 461; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology14050461 - 24 Apr 2025
Viewed by 295
Abstract
DNA methylation, a cornerstone of epigenetic regulation, governs critical biological processes including transcriptional modulation, genomic imprinting, and transposon suppression through chromatin architecture remodeling. Recent advances have revealed that aberrant methylation patterns—characterized by spatial-temporal dysregulation and stochastic molecular noise—serve as key drivers of diverse [...] Read more.
DNA methylation, a cornerstone of epigenetic regulation, governs critical biological processes including transcriptional modulation, genomic imprinting, and transposon suppression through chromatin architecture remodeling. Recent advances have revealed that aberrant methylation patterns—characterized by spatial-temporal dysregulation and stochastic molecular noise—serve as key drivers of diverse pathological conditions, from oncogenesis to neurodegenerative disorders. However, the field faces dual challenges: (1) current understanding remains fragmented due to the inherent spatiotemporal heterogeneity of methylation landscapes across tissues and developmental stages, and (2) mechanistic insights into non-canonical methylation pathways (particularly 6mA) in non-mammalian systems are conspicuously underdeveloped. This review systematically synthesizes the evolutionary-conserved versus species-specific features of 5-methylcytosine (5mC) and N6-methyladenine (6mA) regulatory networks across three biological kingdoms. Through comparative analysis of methylation/demethylation enzymatic cascades (DNMTs/TETs in mammals, CMTs/ROS1 in plants, and DIM-2/DNMTA in fungi), we propose a unified framework for targeting methylation-associated diseases through precision epigenome editing, while identifying critical knowledge gaps in fungal methylome engineering that demand urgent investigation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetic and Epigenetic Regulation of Gene Expression)
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