Susannah Varmuza

Epigenetics, a fairly new field of study describing ancient biochemistry, can be viewed as the molecular intersection of nature and nurture. It involves the study of chromatin, the mix of DNA and proteins that comprise the genome. While the DNA is unchanging from one type of cell to the next, the protein components are highly specific, with many of them working to keep parts of the genome silent. Without epigenetics, we would be puddles of cells. The research in my lab is focussed on the epigenetic process of genomic imprinting in mammals, in which genes “remember” whether they came from the mother or the father, and are either silent or active. The imprinted gene we are currently working on, Sfmbt2, is itself a chromatin protein, and is necessary for viable development of the placenta. It is only expressed from the paternal allele, and when fathers pass on a mutant version, the embryo dies because the placenta fails to develop. SFMBT2 is a chromatin protein, and must regulate genes that are important for placenta development. We are using state of the art genomic and proteomic tools to investigate what parts of the genome are regulated by SFMBT2, and what other proteins it does its job with. Our aim is to define the placenta “Epigenome”, and to describe the features of placental cells that make them different from other cell type.