Japan designs new tool to decipher gene behaviour

Scientists have extensively researched the structure and sequence of genetic material and its interactions with proteins in the hope of understanding how our genetics and environment interact in diseases. This research has partly focused on ‘epigenetic marks’, which are chemical modifications to DNA, RNA, and the associated proteins (known as histones). While researchers can identify and compare epigenetic marks, understanding the correlation between specific modifications and how genes work has remained challenging. To help overcome this, scientists at Kyoto University in Japan have created a new tool called epidecodeR. The user-friendly tool enables biologists to quickly check if a modification affects how a gene responds in specific situations. The team used statistical methods to categorise groups of genes based on how many modifications they had. They showed that EpidecodeR can predict the role of specific modifications, such as altering certain proteins or using drugs, and how these could impact gene activity. They also found epidecodeR to be effective in identifying substances that can block another protein, called RNA demethylase, and explored how changes in proteins called histones might be related to drug abuse.