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Inheritance of environment-induced phenotypic changes through epigenetic mechanisms.

Yukiko Tando1,2,3, Yasuhisa Matsui1,2,3

  • 1Cell Resource Center for Biomedical Research, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8575, Japan.

Environmental Epigenetics
|December 14, 2023
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Parental environmental factors can induce epigenetic changes, altering offspring traits across generations. This review explores how these environmental influences on the epigenome lead to inherited phenotypic changes in animals.

Keywords:
DNA methylationepigenomegerm cellsinheritanceparental environmental factors

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Area of Science:

  • Epigenetics and Environmental Science
  • Developmental Biology
  • Genomics

Background:

  • Parental environmental exposures are increasingly recognized to influence offspring phenotypes.
  • Epigenetic mechanisms like DNA methylation and histone modifications mediate these effects in germ cells.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review intergenerational and transgenerational inheritance of phenotypic changes induced by parental environmental factors.
  • To discuss the molecular mechanisms and biological significance of epigenomic inheritance.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on epigenetic inheritance in animal models.
  • Analysis of studies investigating environmental impacts on germline epigenomes.
  • Discussion of molecular mechanisms including DNA methylation, histone modifications, and small RNAs.

Main Results:

  • Environmental factors (chemicals, stress, nutrition) induce epigenetic alterations in parental germ cells.
  • These epigenetic changes can lead to heritable phenotypic alterations in descendants.
  • Mechanisms of epigenetic reprogramming escape and their role in inheritance are explored.

Conclusions:

  • Epigenomic inheritance provides a mechanism for environmentally induced phenotypic plasticity across generations.
  • Understanding these processes is crucial for comprehending adaptation and disease susceptibility.
  • Further research is needed to fully elucidate the causal links and molecular underpinnings.