The developmental period is a critical window during which environmental cues interact with the genome to shape lifelong trajectories of health and disease. Beyond the DNA sequence itself, epigenomic mechanisms, including DNA methylation, histone modifications, chromatin remodeling, and non-coding RNAs, play a central role in translating early-life signals into stable changes in gene expression and organ function. These epigenetic processes act as dynamic mediators between the early-life environment (such as nutrition, stress, hypoxia, toxins, and maternal health) and the developmental programming of metabolic, cardiovascular, neurological, and other physiological systems. Disruption or maladaptation of these mechanisms can increase susceptibility to disease across the lifespan, providing a mechanistic framework for the developmental origins of health and disease. This Research Topic, “Developmental Epigenomics: Chromatin Mechanisms Shaping Lifelong Health and Disease,” aims to capture cutting-edge research that links epigenomic regulation in early development to later-life health outcomes. We invite high-quality Original Research, Reviews, and Perspectives that provide mechanistic insight into how chromatin markings and related epigenetic processes influence developmental trajectories and long-term disease risk.
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to: • Early-Life Environmental Influences Epigenetic and epigenomic responses to early-life exposures (e.g., maternal diet, obesity, undernutrition, stress, hypoxia, endocrine disruptors, toxins, infections) and their impact on gene regulation, organ development, and future disease risk. • Developmental Programming and Organ Function Chromatin-mediated mechanisms by which fetal, neonatal, and early postnatal environments shape the development and long-term function of key organs and systems (e.g., brain, heart, liver, adipose tissue, pancreas, placenta). • Novel Epigenetic Mechanisms in Development Discovery and characterization of epigenetic writers, readers, and erasers, and their roles in controlling developmental gene expression programs and tissue differentiation. • Chromatin Architecture in Early Development The role of 3D genome organization, chromatin looping, and topologically associating domains (TADs) in establishing and maintaining developmental gene regulatory networks and their relevance for later disease susceptibility. • Non-Coding RNAs in Developmental Epigenetic Regulation Functions of microRNAs, lncRNAs, circRNAs, and other non-coding RNAs as regulators of chromatin state and gene expression during critical windows of development. • Life-Course Links to Health and Disease Studies that connect developmental epigenetic changes with later-life outcomes, including metabolic, cardiovascular, neurological, or immune disorders, and that provide evidence for causal pathways or mechanistic links. • Translational and Preventive Perspectives Work that explores how understanding developmental epigenomic mechanisms can inform strategies for disease prevention, early intervention, or risk stratification, including experimental models and human cohort studies. • Methodological and Technological Advances in Developmental Epigenomics Innovative experimental and analytical approaches (e.g., single-cell epigenomics in developmental tissues, integrative multi-omics, longitudinal epigenetic profiling) that are applied to understanding epigenomic regulation in early life and its consequences for later health.
Submissions that combine epigenomic profiling, mechanistic experimentation, and developmental context, including animal models, in vitro systems, and human observational or intervention studies, are particularly encouraged. Studies focusing solely on bioinformatics, computational prediction, or routine molecular/clinical analyses without clear linkage to epigenetic mechanisms in development and long-term health fall outside the central scope of this Research Topic. By assembling diverse contributions at the intersection of epigenomics, early development, and lifelong health, this collection aims to advance our understanding of how chromatin-based mechanisms encode early environmental experiences and shape disease risk across the lifespan, in line with the promotion of optimal health and well-being (SDG 3).
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Article types
This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:
Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
