Transgenerational Epigenetic Inheritance: Prevalence, Mechanisms, and Implications for the Study of Heredity and Evolution

2009/05/15 by Eva Jablonka, Gal Raz · 1,689 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Medicine · #Biology #Birth, Development, and Health #DNA methylation #Diet and metabolism studies #Epigenesis #Epigenetics #Epigenetics and DNA Methylation #Evolutionary biology #Gene #Genetics #Heredity #Inheritance (genetic algorithm) #Transgenerational epigenetics

paper · doi:10.1086/598822

published in The Quarterly Review of Biology 84(2), 131-176 (University of Chicago Press)

openalex publication_date 2009/05/15 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04

Abstract

This review describes new developments in the study of transgenerational epigenetic inheritance, a component of epigenetics. We start by examining the basic concepts of the field and the mechanisms that underlie epigenetic inheritance. We present a comprehensive review of transgenerational cellular epigenetic inheritance among different taxa in the form of a table, and discuss the data contained therein. The analysis of these data shows that epigenetic inheritance is ubiquitous and suggests lines of research that go beyond present approaches to the subject. We conclude by exploring some of the consequences of epigenetic inheritance for the study of evolution, while also pointing to the importance of recognizing and understanding epigenetic inheritance for practical and theoretical issues in biology.

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