Epigenomics

March 30, 2025

This week I finally took an exam I’ve been pushing off for nearly a year. Grape and Wine Biotechnology was an interesting course, don’t get me wrong, but I was a business major in college. I don’t know science. I don’t know biology beyond my high school class where we learned “osmosis is the diffusion of water through a selectively permeable membrane from a high water potential to a low water potential” or “the mitochondria is the power house of a cell” (shout out Mr. Stapleton). That’s it. That’s the extent of my scientific knowledge.

The professor for our biotechnology class was generous and let us choose one topic to do a 30-minute presentation on for our exam, since he knew many of us didn’t have a background in genetics. I chose to do my presentation on Epigenomics.

The key point of epigenomics is when an organism goes through stress, they remember it and prime themselves to be able to combat said stressor the next time. The genetic makeup of the organism doesn’t alter at all, but some already existing genes are silenced while others are activated. What a concept!

It’s really interesting when thinking about plants going through draught stress from climate change. The same plant, with the same DNA, will have different traits if it’s irrigated season by season than its twin plant who has been undergoing and combating draught stress. The irrigated plant is chilling, but the other has been fighting for its life, and despite both being relatively healthy, they become totally different plants! Also, if you transplant a grapevine from one vineyard to another in a different location, with a different terroir (climate/soil/sunlight exposure situation), you’ll see how the plant morphs and changes to adapt to its new environment. It’s actually so cool—I think I love science??

There is still a lot of research to be done on epigenomics. Will we able to induce epigenetic changes in order to make crops more resilient to climate change or diseases? Will the plants remember their old ways, from before stress occurred, or has the stress made them change forever? How long will they remember the stress that went through, and will the change that occurred to combat it be passed on from generation to generation?

Anyways, all the studying I did about epigenomics this week really got me thinking about how much I’ve adapted all the times I’ve been transplanted in new places. Who I am (my genetic makeup, if you will) has not changed in the slightest, but different parts of me are activated while others quiet down each time I go somewhere new.

At my core I think I really have stayed the same, all my life. I have always had my faith; I have always loved rules and had a deep sense of right vs. wrong; I’ve always been active in one way or another; I have always valued the relationships I’ve had with family and friends; I’ve always been a perfectionistic people-pleaser; I’ve always found joy in childlike things; I’ve always been a planner. But despite being the same at my core, it’s interesting to see how parts of myself have been muted or enhanced in different seasons of my life.

I have always had my faith. That’s been the most consistent thing in all my life. There have been seasons where I’ve gone to church every Sunday, and some where I worked there and was never really not at church, and some like right now where I haven’t gone to church in months. There have been times of stress, times I’ve doubted, times I’ve wandered, times I’ve struggled, but God never wavered even when I did.

I’ve always loved rules and had a deep sense of right and wrong. But sometimes I try to silence my conscience.

I’ve always been active in one way or another. I’ve had times of being a competitive athlete, and other times when I’m active just because it’s a discipline, and times when I’m active because it’s just plain fun. Lately it’s been the latter. Running is my favorite part of the day. Climbing? I suck at it but also have never loved anything more. Just Dance instead of watching a movie? Absolutely, of course, why wouldn’t we.

I have always valued the relationships I’ve had with family and friends. Sometimes I really lean into those relationships and sometimes I invest in new ones.

I’ve always been a perfectionistic people-pleaser. Those qualities are deeply engrained, but over the past few years I’ve turned into a “recovering perfectionist”. I still love when people are pleased with me, but I’ve also learned that my love and value don’t come from what others think. I know I am loved by the God of the universe who created me, and nothing I do will make him love me more, and nothing I do will make him love me less. It is the most freeing thing in the whole world!! And I feel like now I can fearlessly express love to others more than I ever could when I was solely seeking love from them.

I’ve always found joy in childlike things. There have definitely been seasons where I suppressed my inner child, but this season has not been one of them. I’m baking cakes every weekend. I’m sitting in pockets of sun reading books. I’m giggling with friends into the late hours of the evening. I’m playing Dutch Blitz like its going out of style. I can think of few seasons in life I’ve had so much simple fun.

I’ve always been a planner. Yet now, all of the sudden, I hate having a plan. I have no clue where I’ll be in four months from now, and that used to terrify me, but now I’m excited. I’ve been through stress of the unknown, through graduations and job changes and big moves, but much like a grapevine who’s undergone an epigenetic alteration ( 😉 ) I feel primed and ready for whatever comes next. I’m eager to see how God continues to change and challenge and grow me as my life continues changing.

So cheers to change and cheers to epigenomics, I guess??