Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 6, 2026

Gene Editing of Primary Rhesus Macaque B Cells
Published on: February 10, 2023
Paternal line effects of early experiences persist across three generations in rhesus macaques
Erin L Kinnally1, Mireille N Gonzalez1, John P Capitanio1,2
1California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, California.
Abstract:
The effects of early stress may not be limited to the exposed generation, but are sometimes passed on to subsequent generations. Such non-genetic transgenerational inheritance is a potentially important developmental and evolutionary force. We compared the transgenerational effects of maternal and paternal line early stress on anxiety- and health-related traits in three non-exposed generations (F1, F2 and F3) of semi-naturalistically raised rhesus macaques. As infants, F0 macaques were exposed to nursery rearing (NR) or semi-naturalistic social conditions (CONTROL). Three hundred forty non-exposed F1-F3 descendants were CONTROL reared and physiological and behavioral measures were collected during standardized assessment at 3-4 months of age. Paternal line NR was significantly associated with greater nervousness in F1-F3 and lower immune cell counts in F1-F2. Maternal-line NR effects were not observed. This study suggests that acquired stress-related traits may be "inherited" across generations in primates, through complex social or germ-line mechanisms.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
What is an Experiment?
Thomson's e/m Experiment
A particle with charge q, speed v, and mass m enters an area from the top, where the magnetic and electric fields are perpendicular both to the particle's motion and to one another. The magnetic...
Controls in Experiments
Randomized Experiments
Simple randomization
Simple...
Crossover Experiments
Crossover designs are performed even with smaller sample sizes since the samples can act as their controls. These are better than simple randomized trials since patients are exposed to all the treatments.
The Stanford Prison Experiment

