Class of 1923: looking back at the authors of JEB's first issue.

Journal of Experimental Biology was launched in 1923 as The British Journal of Experimental Biology, with a single issue being published in the October of that year. As we celebrate our centenary, we look back at that first issue and the zoologists publishing their work in the new journal, and draw comparisons to the JEB that we know today. Much has changed since the publication of the first issue of JEB, in the worlds of both science and publishing, and we eagerly anticipate the next 100 years of discovery.

Histone modifications form a cell-type-specific chromosomal bar code that persists through the cell cycle.

Chromatin configuration influences gene expression in eukaryotes at multiple levels, from individual nucleosomes to chromatin domains several Mb long. Post-translational modifications (PTM) of core histones seem to be involved in chromatin structural transitions, but how remains unclear. To explore this, we used ChIP-seq and two cell types, HeLa and lymphoblastoid (LCL), to define how changes in chromatin packaging through the cell cycle influence the distributions of three transcription-associated histone modifications, H3K9ac, H3K4me3 and H3K27me3.

Efficient translation of Dnmt1 requires cytoplasmic polyadenylation and Musashi binding elements.

Regulation of DNMT1 is critical for epigenetic control of many genes and for genome stability. Using phylogenetic analysis we characterized a block of 27 nucleotides in the 3'UTR of Dnmt1 mRNA identical between humans and Xenopus and investigated the role of the individual elements contained within it. This region contains a cytoplasmic polyadenylation element (CPE) and a Musashi binding element (MBE), with CPE binding protein 1 (CPEB1) known to bind to the former in mouse oocytes.

Ontogeny, conservation and functional significance of maternally inherited DNA methylation at two classes of non-imprinted genes.

A functional role for DNA methylation has been well-established at imprinted loci, which inherit methylation uniparentally, most commonly from the mother via the oocyte. Many CpG islands not associated with imprinting also inherit methylation from the oocyte, although the functional significance of this, and the common features of the genes affected, are unclear. We identify two major subclasses of genes associated with these gametic differentially methylated regions (gDMRs), namely those important for brain and for testis function.

The histone deacetylase inhibitor sodium valproate causes limited transcriptional change in mouse embryonic stem cells but selectively overrides Polycomb-mediated Hoxb silencing.

Background: Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) cause histone hyperacetylation and H3K4 hypermethylation in various cell types. They find clinical application as anti-epileptics and chemotherapeutic agents, but the pathways through which they operate remain unclear. Surprisingly, changes in gene expression caused by HDACi are often limited in extent and can be positive or negative.