Is there an Epigenetic clock? Some hypothesis to link DNA damage and phenotypic plasticity

Slides

Epigenetics is the study of (partially) heritable genome modifiers that regulate genetic expression without altering the DNA sequence. Among epigenetic markers, cytosine methylation is particularly intriguing because of its intrinsic instability, when exposed to oxidative stress for instance. In this talk we will discuss, with a computer scientist look, how this “instability” could be in fact seen as a feature allowing phenotypic plasticity and cell differentiation, ie., the possibility to express different cell phenotypes with the same genetic code.

In particular we will propose a mechanism by which the cell could use DNA damage as a ticking clock for regulating gene expression level.