Biosciences 704: Topics in Biosciences
Biology 695: Seminar in Molecular, Microbial, and Cellular Biology
Karl J. Fryxell
Office hours: Discovery Hall, room 305, Thursdays 2 pm – 4 pm.
Office phone: (703) 993-1069
E-mail: kfryxell@gmu.edu
(please use course name & number as the e-mail subject line)
Web site: mason.gmu.edu/~kfryxell
Introduction
Epigenetics refers to genetic information that is encoded by chromatin structure (rather than DNA sequence), and can be inherited through cell division or even in some cases through generations.
Epigenetics is a very active field of research and plays fundamental roles in all aspects of eukaryotic biology, including stem cells, developmental choice of cell type, gene regulation, development, cancer, the nervous system, and so on.
This seminar will be based on a recently published book ( Epigenetics , 2 nd edition (2015), C. David
Allis et al. editors, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press). There is no need to buy the book because a copy of this book will be kept on 2 hr reserve in the Mercer Library throughout the semester. Moreover, students will be able to scan figures from this book for free, on the xerox machine in the Mercer Library, which is capable of sending those scans directly to your e-mail address. Each student will be expected to present one of the chapters in this book, selected from the following list:
Chapter 6: Structural and Functional Coordination of DNA and Histone Methylation. By X. Cheng, pp. 169-191.
Chapter 15: DNA Methylation in Mammals. By E. Li and Y. Zhang, pp. 423-443.
Chapter 17: Transcriptional Silencing by Polycomb-Group Proteins. By U. Grossniklaus and R.
Paro, pp. 463-488.
Chapter 18: Transcriptional Regulation by Trithorax-Group Proteins. By R. E. Kingston and J. W.
Tamkun, pp. 489-506.
Chapter 20: Histone Variants and Epigenetics. By S. Henikoff and M. M. Smith, pp. 529-553.
Chapter 21: Nucleosome Remodeling and Epigenetics. By P. B. Becker and J. L. Workman, pp.
555-573.
Chapter 22: Maintenance of Epigenetic Information. By G. Almouzni and H. Cedar, pp. 575-597.
Chapter 25: Dosage Compensation in Mammals. By N. Brockdorff and B. M. Turner, pp. 641-665.
Chapter 26: Genomic Imprinting in Mammals. By D. P. Barlow and M. S. Bartolomei, pp. 667-686.
Chapter 29: Epigenetic Control of Immunity. By M. Busslinger and A. Tarakhovsky, pp. 737-762.
Chapter 32: Histone and DNA Modifications as Regulators of Neuronal Development and Function.
By S. Lomvardas and T. Maniatis, pp. 807-830.

Scheduling
This course meets on the Prince William campus, in Bull Run Hall room 246, on Wednesdays at
4:30 pm to 7:10 pm. This is a one credit course, but was scheduled for a 3 hr time slot, so our meetings will begin partway through the semester, on October 26 (see below). There is no final exam in this course (in case of scheduling problems, it is possible (but unlikely) that we will need to use the final exam time slot for student presentations).
Wednesday, October 28 – Introduction & topic assignments
Wednesday, November 4 – student presentations
Wednesday, November 11 – student presentations
Wednesday, November 18 – student presentations
Wednesday, November 25 – no class due to Thanksgiving holiday
Wednesday, December 2 – student presentations
Wednesday, December 9 – student presentations
Wednesday, December 16 – final exam time slot (no class meeting unless needed for presentations)
Grading
Grades in this seminar are based on your presentations (70%), participation in class discussions
(10%), attendance (10%), and written answers to brief quiz questions (10%). Re: attendance & participation, students are encouraged to be on time (marked down if significantly late) and to contribute questions and comments during the class discussion (marked down if have nothing to say). Brief written quizzes (in-class, open notes) will be given at the end of class that will cover the material presented that day. To accommodate schedule conflicts, we will drop one absence and one quiz for each student.
Beyond that, you are expected to attend this class in order to receive credit for it, and to arrange your schedule accordingly. We will not have make-up sessions or final exams.
Presentations and Discussions
Presentations should be focused on the assigned chapter, but students are encouraged to include background material from related papers in their presentations, if/when that is needed to explain the concepts, experiments, or their significance. There is no minimum or maximum length for student presentations, but in-depth presentations are preferred, which are still lively enough (and clear enough!) to hold the attention of the class (and the instructor!). It is always helpful to rehearse your presentation beforehand. In some cases, it might also be helpful to clarify conceptual issues beforehand, for example by consulting during the instructor’s office hours. Presenters are expected to lead the class discussion following your presentation (and students in the audience are expected to participate in that discussion).