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Intergenerational and transgenerational epigenetic inheritance in animals

Nature Cell Biology volume 21, pages 143–151 (2019)Cite this article

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Abstract

Animals transmit not only DNA but also other molecules, such as RNA, proteins and metabolites, to their progeny via gametes. It is currently unclear to what extent these molecules convey information between generations and whether this information changes according to their physiological state and environment. Here, we review recent work on the molecular mechanisms by which ‘epigenetic’ information is transmitted between generations over different timescales, and the importance of this information for development and physiology.

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Fig. 1: Mechanisms of transfer of information about ancestral environment or physiology over generations.
Fig. 2: Small RNA pathways can direct histone methylation and DNA methylation to repress specific loci.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a European Research Council (ERC) consolidator grant (616434), the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (BFU2017-89488-P and SEV-2012-0208), the AXA Research Fund, the Bettencourt Schueller Foundation, Agencia de Gestio d’Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca (AGAUR; SGR-831), the EMBL-CRG Systems Biology Program and the CERCA Program/Generalitat de Catalunya.

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  1. Systems Biology Program, Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain

    Marcos Francisco Perez & Ben Lehner

  2. Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain

    Ben Lehner

  3. Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain

    Ben Lehner

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  1. Marcos Francisco Perez
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M.F.P. and B.L. wrote the manuscript.

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Perez, M.F., Lehner, B. Intergenerational and transgenerational epigenetic inheritance in animals. Nat Cell Biol 21, 143–151 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41556-018-0242-9

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