Why Your Genes Are Not Your Destiny
On the importance of epigenetics
The concept of genetic determinism purports that our genes are our destiny, but genes are not nearly as important as gene expression. Indeed, why worry about a potentially pathogenic gene if it is never expressed? To offer an extreme example illustrating the power of gene expression, let us consider the following: What differentiates a grasshopper from a locust? Although both belong to the same kingdom, phylum, and class, the two insects don’t seem to share many behavioral characteristics.
Gene expression is more important than genes themselves.
Surprisingly, the grasshopper and locust are not only the same species but the very same creature. Both possess an identical genetic code but express different parts of that genetic code. During times of extreme environmental stress, such as famine or overpopulation, changes in gene expression allow certain species of grasshoppers to initiate the Jekyll-Hyde transformation from a well-mannered grasshopper to a stark, raving mad locust. The grasshopper’s genetic code doesn’t change; rather the code is reread so that the same manual becomes instructions for an operating locust. If differential gene expression can produce such drastic changes, is genome rewriting really necessary? Perhaps the centrality…
