The study titled “Transgenerational Epigenetic Inheritance: Myths and Mechanisms” highlights the intricate interplay between genetics, epigenetics, and the environment in shaping hereditary information. With the human genome sequence, the focus has shifted to understanding how factors such as diet, air quality, and emotions might influence not just our genes but also those of future generations.

While DNA sequence mutations are slow, epigenetic mechanisms, responsive to environmental cues, are proposed as facilitators of “soft inheritance” for adaptability in fluctuating environments. Notably, plants exhibit heritable epigenetic variation, often induced by transposons, with evidence suggesting the persistence of these variations for extended periods due to limited germline reprogramming (Heard, 2014). Epigenetic reprogramming is the process by which an organism’s genotype interacts with the environment to produce its phenotype and provides a framework for explaining individual variations and the uniqueness of cells, tissues, or organs despite identical genetic information (Tang, 2007).

While the inheritance of epigenetic characters can certainly occur- particularly in plants– how much is due to the environment and the extent to which it happens in humans, remains unclear. The study underscores the intricate interplay between genetics, epigenetics, and environmental factors, emphasizing the need for further research to unravel the complexities of epigenetic inheritance and its implications for adaptive evolution and human health.

While animal studies suggest transgenerational inheritance of epigenetic marks, such evidence in humans, specifically via germline without direct exposure to external stimuli, remains contentious (Ghai 2022).

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Citations

Ghai, M., & Kader, F. (2022). A Review on Epigenetic Inheritance of Experiences in Humans. Biochemical genetics, 60(4), 1107–1140. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10528-021-10155-7

Heard, E., & Martienssen, R. A. (2014). Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance: myths and mechanisms. Cell, 157(1), 95–109. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4020004/

Tang, W. Y., & Ho, S. M. (2007). Epigenetic reprogramming and imprinting in origins of disease. Reviews in endocrine & metabolic disorders, 8(2), 173–182. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11154-007-9042-4