MRC DTG studentship: Role of transcriptional events in establishment of imprinted methylation

We inherit a set of genes from our mother and our father. For most genes, both copies are equally active, irrespective of parentage. A few genes defy this rule, one copy being silenced by a process that begins in the germ cells - the cells that will combine to form the embryo at fertilisation - and these are called imprinted genes. Imprinted genes have particularly important roles in how the fetus grows and develops. We are investigating how imprinted genes are marked in this way in the egg cell. It is important that these marks are laid down correctly. Mistakes in this process that could occur because of environmental factors or through procedures like assisted reproduction technologies may not be corrected in the fetus and may lead to developmental abnormalities or an increased risk of disease in later life.