The imprint can be a footprint or a mark.
The imprint is the impression , footprint or mark left by a person or object. It is a peculiar and distinctive sign or characteristic. Let's look at some example sentences: “The imprint of the new coach is already noticeable on the team,” “The vehicle still shows the imprint of the impact,” “He doesn't have a great voice, but I like his imprint.”
Another definition of imprinting is linked to the rapid and irreversible learning process that develops during certain critical phases of the development of some organisms. During these periods, the body's receptivity is greater and facilitates learning .
Genomic imprinting
The phenomenon that is characterized by some genes being expressed in a certain way according to the sex of the parent is known as genomic imprinting ; In other words, some genes or genomic domains have biochemical marks that indicate their parental origin. It is possible to notice two types of bonds that cause imprints: covalent and non-covalent . For this to take place, the presence of a nuclear enzymatic machinery is necessary, which must maintain the marks during the cell cycle.
The genomic imprint is created during gametogenesis, a phase in which each pair of homologs secretes a chromosome to the egg or sperm; Later, in embryogenesis and throughout growth until adulthood, the genes that received the imprint maintain their alleles in their respective states: paternal or maternal. In this way, imprints function as a mold to build replicas of themselves, they are inherited and it is possible to identify them through molecular analysis.
The function of genomic imprinting is much more important than a simple record of the parental origin of the alleles of a given gene, since they serve to reduce the gene expression of one parental copy or another, which results in a lack of balance of homologous alleles or, in other words, in which one of them is favored over the other, depending on its origin.
Genomic imprinting is a phenomenon characterized by genes that are expressed in a certain way depending on the sex of the parent.
Diseases linked to the phenomenon
There are certain human diseases that are related to genomic imprinting, among which are Prader-Willi syndrome (which affects development in the infancy stage, and generates intellectual and psychomotor disability, among other disorders) and Angelman's disease (prevents the correct development of linguistic ability and attacks the motor system), both associated with a region of chromosome 15 in particular. On the other hand, there is Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (warned by the newborn being overweight, by the presence of viscera that are not found in the abdominal area or by the excessive size of the tongue).
It is worth mentioning that many species of living beings, including us, receive by inheritance one copy of the maternal autosomal gene and another of the paternal one, and that these two play a role for a large part of the genes; However, in some of them one of the two copies is cancelled. To know if the cause of a disease is found in the genomic imprinting process, it is first necessary to study the family tree of the affected person to analyze the other cases: if the same disorder is not expressed in the same way in all family members, then the problem originates from imprinting.
Hormonal imprinting is another genetic phenomenon, which occurs during the first encounter between the hormone and its receptor in certain critical periods of life and which determines the subsequent signal translation capacity of the cell .
The imprint as reproduction
Imprint, finally, is the reproduction of an image , whether in relief or indentation, on a soft material.
To make this imprint, you must use a mold or a stamp.