Genomic imprinting

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Genomic imprinting, a parent-of-origin-specific epigenetic modification of the genome, is observed in placental mammals and some plants (angiosperms). Since its discovery in the early 1980s, this intriguing phenomenon has been intensively investigated and has spawned an exciting new research area. Imprinting is relevant to a variety of biological events such as embryogenesis, growth and behavior, and its disruption can lead to congenital malformation syndromes and cancers. Furthermore, imprinting has been serving as an excellent model system to study epigenetic mechanisms of gene regulation and helping us to understand how gene clusters and genome domains are regulated. This special issue provides an overview of the current knowledge of genomic imprinting. Including both excellent reviews and original research articles by outstanding researchers in the field, many of which were participants of the genomic imprinting workshops in Montpellier (September 2004) and Oxford (April 2005), it represents the forefront of imprinting research.