DNA and RNA epigenetics, once thought to be separate, have now been found to work together to fine-tune gene expression.

Researchers have uncovered a new way that cells control their genes — and it may rewrite our understanding of “epigenetics.”

Epigenetics is a form of DNA modification that doesn’t affect the DNA sequence itself. Instead, it describes when chemical groups attach to specific genes, thus switching those genes on or off, or else changing the 3D shape of chromosomes.

Now, in a study published Jan. 17 in the journal Cell, researchers have uncovered a whole new method of gene regulation that involves epigenetic tweaks made to both DNA and its molecular cousin RNA, at the same time.

This discovery challenges the established view that these RNA- and DNA-modifying processes are completely separate, and it suggests that it may have broader implications in human biology and disease. To that end, Fuks and his team are trying to determine how this new mechanism relates to cancer.

link