Recent Advances in Bacterial Epigenomics
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Genetics and Genomics".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 November 2024) | Viewed by 296
Special Issue Editor
Interests: plant–rhizobium symbiosis; systems biology; multipartite genomes; metagenomics; bacterial epigenomics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Bacterial epigenomics is an emerging field that intersects genomics and epigenetics, focusing on mechanisms such as DNA methylation, histone-like protein modifications, and regulatory RNA molecules that modulate bacterial phenotypes in response to environmental cues.
Bacteria employ sophisticated, and still not fully explored, epigenetic mechanisms to regulate the cell cycle, gene expression, adaptation, phase variation, and virulence. Only few methyltransferase enzymes are well described, though we know that the motif they recognize is methylate, but the effects of such epigenetic modifications are still not known. Methylation patterns can be inherited across generations, ensuring stable gene regulation.
Another crucial aspect of bacterial epigenomics is the modification of histone-like proteins, such as HU, H-NS, and Fis, which participate in chromatin structuring and gene regulation. These proteins can undergo acetylation, phosphorylation, and other modifications, altering their interaction with DNA and affecting global gene expression patterns.
Regulatory RNAs, including small RNAs and riboswitches, further contribute to epigenetic regulation by modulating mRNA stability and translation, thereby fine-tuning protein production in response to environmental signals.
The study of bacterial epigenomics has profound implications for understanding bacterial evolution, physiology, pathogenesis, and antibiotic resistance. Advanced techniques such as single-molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing and Oxford Nanopore sequencing (ONT) are enhancing our ability to map epigenetic modifications and their functional consequences comprehensively.
The Special Issue “Recent Advances in Bacterial Epigenomics” will focus on the molecular players that take part in epigenetic mechanisms. We invite contributors to submit works that investigate these mechanisms by various and combined approaches, such as biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics, and omics techniques, as well as review articles that offer a comprehensive view of current knowledge and its limits.
Dr. Camilla Fagorzi
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- bacterial epigenomics
- DNA methylation
- histone-like proteins
- sRNAs
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