7 research outputs found
DMSO induces drastic changes in human cellular processes and epigenetic landscape in vitro
Is grand-parental smoking associated with adolescent obesity? A three-generational study
Molecular insights into transgenerational non-genetic inheritance of acquired behaviours
Behavioural traits in mammals are influenced by environmental factors, which can interact with the genome and modulate its activity by complex molecular interplay. Environmental experiences can modify social, emotional and cognitive behaviours during an individual's lifetime, and result in acquired behavioural traits that can be transmitted to subsequent generations. This Review discusses the concept of, and experimental support for, non-genetic transgenerational inheritance of acquired traits involving the germ line in mammals. Possible mechanisms of induction and maintenance during development and adulthood are considered along with an interpretation of recent findings showing the involvement of epigenetic modifications and non-coding RNAs in male germ cells
The (not so) controversial role of DNA methylation in epigenetic inheritance across generations.
It has been demonstrated originally in plants that phenotypic traits,
such as floral symmetry, can be caused by changes of methylation
patterns of specific genes. Such traits can be transgenerationally
inherited for multiple generations and remain associated with cytosine
methylation patterns. Whether genomic methylation may also contribute to
epigenetic inheritance across generations in vertebrates and notably in
mammals is still more controversial. One reason for this tentativeness
is the dual occurrence of global genomic de-methylation first in
pre-implantation embryos and subsequently in primordial germ cells
(PGCs) of mammals. Although gene focused cases of epigenetic inheritance
associated with genomic DNA methylation have been well studied mostly
in rodents (such as imprinted genes and the Agouti viable yellow, Avy,
allele), it is still a matter of debate whether genomic DNA methylation
may provide a more general mechanism for the epigenetic inheritance of
acquired traits across generations. We review the current literature on
this topic with a focus on the potential role of DNA methylation for
epigenetic inheritance across generations in mammals