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Genomic imprinting

Silence across the border

Nature volume 405, pages 408–409 (2000)Cite this article

Imprinted genes in mammals are expressed from only one chromosome: either the gene inherited from the mother or that from the father is silenced. Such genes include Igf2 and other genes involved in growth control; here, imprinting might work to balance maternal and paternal demands on the size of an embryo. We know of several mechanisms by which imprinting can be achieved. And now the work of several groups1,2,3,4, including two whose reports appear on pages 482 and 486 of this issue1,2, allows us to add yet another weapon — chromatin boundaries — to the imprinting arsenal.

The differential labelling of cytosine– guanine base pairs with methyl groups distinguishes the two copies of an imprinted gene. This differential methylation usually originates in the parental germ cells — in egg or sperm5. It is generally assumed that methylation of a gene ensures that it cannot be transcribed. Indeed, in mice deficient in methylation, some imprinted genes are expressed from both parental chromosomes6. Surprisingly, however, other genes then become silent on both chromosomes6. Clearly, we do not know all there is to know about the phenomenon of imprinting.

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Figure 1: Selective gene silencing by boundaries.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Developmental Genetics and Imprinting, The Babraham Institute, Cambridge, CB2 4AT, UK

    Wolf Reik & Adele Murrell

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  1. Wolf Reik
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  2. Adele Murrell
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Correspondence to Wolf Reik.

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Reik, W., Murrell, A. Silence across the border. Nature 405, 408–409 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35013178

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