For my current event topic, I chose an article called, “Corn genetics research exposes mechanism behind traits becoming silent”, from a researcher at Penn State. This article talked about how pant geneticists have been studying corn as a system to understand traits and that they have now found a new mechanism that can silence genes in corn. The P1 Gene in the corn has been the most commonly studied gene in the corn, used as a model by geneticists. As researchers were studying the DNA of corn, they discovered that overlapping the DNA methylation could silence the genes. Connecting this to our class, we know that DNA methylation is the addition of methyl groups to the DNA and then can change the activity of the DNA without changing the DNA sequence, which is the amino acids. We also can connect this back to our class because DNA methylation typically acts to repress gene transcription, the first step of gene expression. In the corn research the P1 gene regulates the pigment with the corn and depending on the expression of the P1 gene would give the corn its color, which can range from red cob and kernels or white cob and kernels. The research also talks about the involvement of small RNA dependent and independent mechanisms that are for gene expression. This can connect again back to our class from the RNA and gene expression and suppression of the corn. We did some similar studies like this corn one when we did gene expression, but we used soybeans. We looked at the genes that were expressed and then looked at the other genes within the soybeans. Based on what genes were being expressed would tell how the soybean would act or how the soybean would react in certain situations. Another way that this research connects to our class is that we talked about mutations. The P1 mutation is a silent mutation. In class, we learned that a silence mutation is one where the DNA sequence is changed but that does not affect the amino acid sequence. This means that there is no physical or phenotypical change but there is a genotype change. This type of current event article is one that is big in our society. The way that we can modify certain genes can open a whole door on new ways to modify our food in order to make them more protein filled, or make them less susceptible for disease, or yield more crops. This type of research is being done on other various platforms like GMOs and other modification to crops.For my current event topic, I chose an article called, “Corn genetics research exposes mechanism behind traits becoming silent”, from a researcher at Penn State. This article talked about how pant geneticists have been studying corn as a system to understand traits and that they have now found a new mechanism that can silence genes in corn. The P1 Gene in the corn has been the most commonly studied gene in the corn, used as a model by geneticists. As researchers were studying the DNA of corn, they discovered that overlapping the DNA methylation could silence the genes. Connecting this to our class, we know that DNA methylation is the addition of methyl groups to the DNA and then can change the activity of the DNA without changing the DNA sequence, which is the amino acids. We also can connect this back to our class because DNA methylation typically acts to repress gene transcription, the first step of gene expression. In the corn research the P1 gene regulates the pigment with the corn and depending on the expression of the P1 gene would give the corn its color, which can range from red cob and kernels or white cob and kernels. The research also talks about the involvement of small RNA dependent and independent mechanisms that are for gene expression. This can connect again back to our class from the RNA and gene expression and suppression of the corn. We did some similar studies like this corn one when we did gene expression, but we used soybeans. We lookedat the genes that were expressed and then looked at the other genes within the soybeans. Based onwhat genes were being expressed would tell how the soybean would act or how the soybean would react in certain situations. Another way that this research connects to our class is that we talked about mutations. The P1 mutation is a silent mutation. In class, we learned that a silence mutation is one where the DNA sequence is changed but that does not affect the amino acid sequence. This means that there is no physical or phenotypical change but there is a genotype change. This type of current event article is one that is big in our society. The way that we can modify certain genes can open a whole door on new ways to modify our food in order to make them more protein filled, or make them less susceptible for disease, or yield more crops. This type of research is being done on other various platforms like GMOs and other modification to