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Related Concept Videos

Genomic Imprinting and Inheritance02:30

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Diploid organisms inherit genetic material through chromosomes from both parents. Copies of the same gene are known as alleles. In most cases, both alleles are simultaneously expressed and allow various cellular processes to function optimally. If one of the alleles is missing or mutated, the expression of the other allele can compensate; however, this is not true for all genes.
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Gene expression is a dynamic process that is significantly influenced by environmental factors. This interaction underlies the complex nature of biological development and the phenotypic differences observed among individuals, even among those with identical genetic makeups. Factors such as radiation, temperature, behavior, nutrition, and stress play pivotal roles in determining how genes are expressed. The concept of the reaction range is central to understanding this interaction. It posits...
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Mutations01:35

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Mutations are changes in the sequence of DNA. These changes can occur spontaneously or they can be induced by exposure to environmental factors. Mutations can be characterized in a number of different ways: whether and how they alter the amino acid sequence of the protein, whether they occur over a small or large area of DNA, and whether they occur in somatic cells or germline cells.
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Although the genetic makeup of an organism plays a major role in determining the phenotype, there are also several environmental factors, such as temperature, oxygen availability, presence of mutagens, that can alter an organism’s phenotype.
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Among all the organelles in an animal cell, only mitochondria have their own independent genomes. Animal mitochondrial DNA is a double-stranded, closed-circular molecule with around 20,000 base pairs. Mitochondrial DNA is unique in that one of its two strands, the heavy, or H, -strand is guanine rich, whereas the complementary strand is cytosine rich and called the light, or L, -strand. Compared to nuclear DNA, mitochondrial DNA has a very low percentage of non-coding regions and is marked by...
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 16, 2026

Stable Isotope In-Vivo Labeling for Mass-Spectrometry Identification of Paternal Metabolites Transferred from Sperm to Oocyte During Fertilization
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Microbiome-Germline Interactions and Their Transgenerational Implications.

Michael Elgart1, Yoav Soen1

  • 1Biomolecular Sciences, Rehovot, Israel.

Bioessays : News and Reviews in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
|December 22, 2017
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Gut microbes influence host development and evolution through symbiosis. Emerging evidence suggests these microbes may also mediate transgenerational inheritance of acquired traits via soma-to-soma, soma-to-germline, or soma-germline-soma pathways.

Keywords:
bacteriagermlineholobiontinfluenceinheritancesomatransgenerational

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Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Genetics
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • Most animals and plants host diverse gut microbiota.
  • Host-microbiome interactions regulate host development, homeostasis, adaptation, and evolution.
  • These interactions can impact the host germline, potentially leading to transgenerational effects.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To discuss the potential for gut bacteria to mediate transgenerational inheritance of acquired characteristics.
  • To explore three distinct modes of bacterial-mediated transgenerational influence: soma-to-soma, soma-to-germline, and soma-germline-soma.

Main Methods:

  • Review of current evidence on host-microbiome interactions.
  • Analysis of mechanisms supporting bacterial-mediated transgenerational inheritance.
  • Discussion of theoretical frameworks for emergent phenotypes and inheritance.

Main Results:

  • Gut bacteria influence host soma and germline.
  • Three potential modes of transgenerational inheritance mediated by gut bacteria are proposed.
  • Evidence supports bacterial roles in inheritance of acquired traits.

Conclusions:

  • Gut microbiota play a significant role in host biology beyond immediate homeostasis.
  • Bacterial-mediated transgenerational inheritance is a plausible mechanism for evolutionary adaptation.
  • Further research is needed to fully elucidate these complex interactions and inheritance pathways.