In this article, the phenomenon of genomic imprinting, the developmental implications of imprinting and the molecular mechanisms proposed for this process are reviewed. | Turk J Biol 24 (2000) 241–252 © TÜBİTAK Review Article Genomic Imprinting: A Specialized Form of Gene Regulation Fatma Filiz COŞKUN-ARI* Süleyman Demirel University, School of Medicine, Department of Medical Biology, Isparta-TURKEY Received: Abstract: Genomic imprinting is a process resulting in the preferential expression of certain genes depending on whether the genetic material has been inherited from the mother or the father. Many imprinted genes have been identified as having important roles in mammalian development, and the loss of imprints as well as non-imprinted alleles causes a variety of developmental abnormalities and pathological conditions in both mice and humans. In this article, the phenomenon of genomic imprinting, the developmental implications of imprinting and the molecular mechanisms proposed for this process are reviewed. Key Words: Genomic imprinting, Preferential gene expression, Gene regulation Genomik İmprinting: Özel Bir Gen Regülasyonu Şekli Özet: Genomik imprinting işlemi genetik materyalin anneden veya babadan kalıtılmış olmasına dayalı olarak belirli genlerin tercihli olarak ifade edilmesidir. İmprinting etkisi altında olan çok sayıda genin memelilerin gelişiminde önemli rol oynadığı tespit edilmiştir ve buna bağlı olarak imprinting etkisi altında olan alleller kadar olmayan allellerin kaybı da farelerde ve insanlarda çok çeşitli gelişim bozukluklarına ve hastalıklara neden olmaktadır. Bu makalede, genomik imprinting olgusu, imprinting'in sebep olduğu gelişim bozuklukları ve imprinting işlevinde rol oynayabileceği ileri sürülen moleküler mekanizmaların derlemesi yapılmıştır. Anahtar Sözcükler: Genomik imprinting, Tercihli gen ifadesi, Gen düzenlenmesi The Phenomenon of Genomic Imprinting Although there is an absolute requirement for both a maternal and a paternal genome for normal development, some homologous chromosomes are marked with epigenetic information resulting in specific functional differences between .
