Epigenetics of host-pathogen interactions: the road ahead and the road behind.

ABSTRACT: A growing body of evidence points towards epigenetic mechanisms being responsible for a wide range of biological phenomena, from the plasticity of plant growth and development to the nutritional control of caste determination in honeybees and the etiology of human disease (e.g., cancer). With the (partial) elucidation of the molecular basis of epigenetic variation and the heritability of certain of these changes, the field of evolutionary epigenetics is flourishing. Despite this, the role of epigenetics in shaping host-pathogen interactions has received comparatively little attention. Yet there is plenty of evidence supporting the implication of epigenetic mechanisms in the modulation of the biological interaction between hosts and pathogens. The phenotypic plasticity of many key parasite

SUBMITTER: Gomez-Diaz E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3510240 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature