Phys.org September 26, 2022
Researchers at UC Santa Cruz have shown how a common type of epigenetic modification can be transmitted via sperm not only from parents to offspring, but to the next generation (“grand offspring”) as well. This “transgenerational epigenetic inheritance,” may explain how a person’s health and development could be influenced by the experiences of his or her parents and grandparents. They focused on epigenetic mark (called H3K27me3) in C. elegans. This mark is known to turn off or “repress” the affected genes. They selectively stripped the histone mark from the chromosomes of C. elegans sperm, which were then used to fertilize eggs with fully marked chromosomes. In the resulting offspring, the researchers observed abnormal gene expression patterns. In the germline of the offspring, some genes were aberrantly turned on and stayed in the state lacking the repressive mark, while the rest of the genome regained the mark, and that pattern was passed on to the grand offspring. In the grand offspring, the researchers observed a range of developmental effects. According to the researchers the results of their experiments in worms can have broad implications in other organisms…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ