Genome self-modification and cellular control of genome reorganization

The combination of hierarchical constraints and compartmentalization provides a material basis for cells to 1) modulate the magnitude and duration of genome self-modification and 2) to restrict induced variation to defined regions of the genome. The hypothesis is presented that long-range coherence between genomic self-modification events and cytoplasmic activities can regulate and even direct genomic reorganizations. Finally, it is proposed that two formal causes act in phylogeny, one being the genome which encodes an ontogeny and the second being the organismal epigenetic attractors which act as boundary conditions on permissible genomic change. Genome self-modification can thus be viewed as a means for early epigenesis to modify genomic programs.