Renato Paro: Catalogue data in Spring Semester 2020

Name Prof. em. Dr. Renato Paro
FieldBiosysteme
Address
Professur für Biophysik
ETH Zürich, BSS H 41
Klingelbergstrasse 48
4056 Basel
SWITZERLAND
E-mailrenato.paro@bsse.ethz.ch
DepartmentBiosystems Science and Engineering
RelationshipProfessor emeritus

NumberTitleECTSHoursLecturers
551-0140-00LEpigenetics4 credits2VA. Wutz, U. Grossniklaus, R. Paro, R. Santoro
AbstractEpigenetics studies the inheritance of traits that cannot be attributed to changes in the DNA sequence. The lecture will present an overview of different epigenetic phenomena and provide detailed insight into the underlying molecular mechanisms. The role of epigenetic processes in the development of cancer and other disorders will be discussed.
Learning objectiveThe aim of the course is to gain an understanding of epigenetic mechanisms and their impact on the development of organisms, regenerative processes or manifestation of disease.
ContentTopics
- historical overview, concepts and comparison Genetics vs. Epigenetics
- Biology of chromatin: structure and function, organization in the nucleus and the role of histone modifications in processes like transcription and replication
- DNA methylation as an epigenetic modification
- Inheritance of epigenetic modifications during cell division: cellular memory
- Stability and reversibility of epigenetic modifications: cellular plasticity and stem cells
- Genomic imprinting in plants and mammals
- X chromosome inactivation and dosis compensation
- position effects, paramutations and transvection
- RNA-induced gene silencing
- The role of epigenetic processes in cancer development or cell aging