Dear Colleagues,

Embryonic and larval development is one of the most important periods during the life cycle of any organism and requires numerous events to be accurately orchestrated. The actual protein production in multicellular organisms is known to be controlled at multiple levels and gene expression does not begin and end with the synthesis of messenger RNA (mRNA). The malfunction of any of the multifaceted processes during development may result in poor growth, massive mortality, malformations, or simple developmental delays. While gene expression studies have been conducted in several model and non-model fish species, investigations regarding epigenetically regulated genes during development are still in their infancy. The definition of “epigenetics” was first coined by the embryologist Conrad Waddington in 1942; describing events which were not following the genetic principles. To date, three major mechanisms have been documented: i) DNA methylation, ii) histone covalent modifications, and iii) non-coding RNAs. DNA methylation and histone modifications interfere with the transcription machinery by modulating the accessibility and the chromatic structure, while non-coding RNAs are mostly associated with post-transcriptional regulation. Particularly, the recognition that environmental alterations influence gene regulation and epigenetic regulation emphasizes the importance of investigating gene regulatory and epigenetic mechanisms in depth. The rapid technological progress concerning sequencing methods and advanced molecular protocols, along with the improved computing power and the growing bioinformatics community, allows the in-depth investigation of teleost development, including those species for which the molecular toolbox has not been extensively enriched. The purpose of the present Special Issue is to collect state-of-the-art work exploring the influence of epigenetic mechanisms during teleost development.

Dr. Elena Sarropoulou
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Genes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• epigenetics
• development
• teleost
• gene regulation
• sncRNA
• lncRNA
• methylation
• histone modification
• regulation network
• comparative epigenetics