Environmentally Induced Genomic Instability
A special issue of Genes (ISSN 2073-4425). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Genetics and Genomics".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2020) | Viewed by 9217
Special Issue Editors
Interests: radiation biology; cell biology; genomic instability; oxidative stress; epigenetics
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Induced genomic instability (IGI) evidently plays a role in environmentally induced cancer. IGI is a concept describing the delayed damage that can be observed many cell generations after exposure in the non-exposed progeny of exposed cells as increased mutation frequency, apoptosis, chromosomal aberrations, micronuclei, and other damage. IGI was originally found in cells exposed to ionizing radiation, but several other chemical and physical agents have been reported to induce genomic instability. In addition to cell cultures, IGI has been observed in animals and even in humans. IGI is initiated and transmitted epigenetically, which refers to heritable changes in the gene expression or in the phenotype that are not attributable to changes in the DNA sequence. Epigenetic mechanisms are considered to include, for example, DNA methylation signature, histone modifications, ubiquitination and sumoylation processes, and non-coding RNAs, but other mechanisms may also exist.
As carcinogenesis requires the accumulation of multiple genetic changes, IGI has a central importance in the development of cancer. However, its health implications may be much wider, as the accumulation of DNA alterations and increased levels of reactive oxygen species—another characteristic of IGI—seem to play key roles in the development of other chronic diseases (e.g., cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases). Although the maintenance of genome stability is crucial for the well-being of higher organisms, IGI has also been seen as a resource for evolution and a mechanism of adaptation.
This Special Issue aims to present novel insights into IGI, including its initiation by different environmental agents, how IGI is transmitted epigenetically, and what kinds of consequences IGI may have in living organisms.
Assoc. Prof. Jonne Naarala
Dr. Mikko Herrala
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- genomic instability
- induced genomic instability
- epigenetic
- cancer
- environmental agents
