Mechanisms of epigenetic inheritance of variable traits through the germline

Casas, Eduard; Vavouri, Tanya

doi:10.1530/rep-19-0340

Cited by 21 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 124 publications

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“…The alternative to a maternally mediated effect is a more direct effect by sires, through small RNAs or proteins deposited in the sperm cytoplasm, or through epigenetic modifications of the DNA transferred to offspring. Since D. melanogaster lacks methylation and there is no evidence as yet for paternal effects mediated by sperm loaded with small RNAs or proteins in this species [56], this leaves the possibility that the effect we observe is caused by remodelled chromatin. A previous study has indeed shown that diet-induced changes in chromatin state can affect lifespan in Drosophila [57].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A genome-wide test for paternal indirect genetic effects on lifespan inDrosophila melanogaster

et al. 2022

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Exposing sires to various environmental manipulations has demonstrated that paternal effects can be non-trivial also in species where male investment in offspring is almost exclusively limited to sperm. Whether paternal effects also have a genetic component (i.e. paternal indirect genetic effects (PIGEs)) in such species is however largely unknown, primarily because of methodological difficulties separating indirect from direct effects of genes. PIGEs may nevertheless be important since they have the capacity to contribute to evolutionary change. Here we use Drosophila genetics to construct a breeding design that allows testing nearly complete haploid genomes (more than 99%) for PIGEs. Using this technique, we estimate the variance in male lifespan due to PIGEs among four populations and compare this to the total paternal genetic variance (the sum of paternal indirect and direct genetic effects). Our results indicate that a substantial part of the total paternal genetic variance results from PIGEs. A screen of 38 haploid genomes, randomly sampled from a single population, suggests that PIGEs also influence variation in lifespan within populations. Collectively, our results demonstrate that PIGEs may constitute an underappreciated source of phenotypic variation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A genome-wide test for paternal indirect genetic effects on lifespan inDrosophila melanogaster

et al. 2022

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“…There were individuals across families in this study who expressed LEH in later generations, when LEH prevalence was generally low (perhaps due to favorable environmental conditions e.g., high food availability, relative economic affluence, low rates of infectious disease). The mechanisms for intergenerational transmission of stress, frailty, and susceptibility to disease (e.g., intrauterine environment, alterations to gamete and DNA methylation see Bowers & Yehuda, 2016;Vågerö et al, 2018;Casas & Vavouri, 2020), are beyond the scope of this study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heterogeneous frailty and the expression of linear enamel hypoplasia in a genealogical population

Lawrence

Stojanowski

Paul

et al. 2021

American J Phys Anthropol

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Objectives: Linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH) is a common skeletal marker of physiological stress (e.g., malnutrition or illness) that is studied within and across populations, without reference to familial risk. We examine LEH prevalence in a population with known genealogical relationships to determine the potential influence of genetic heritability and shared environment.Methods: LEH data of 239 individuals from a single population were recorded from the Ohio State University Menegaz-Bock collection dental casts. All individuals were of known age, sex, and genealogy. Narrow-sense heritability estimates were obtained for LEH presence and count data from all unworn, fully erupted teeth (excluding third molars) using SOLAR (v.8.1.1). Age, sex, and age-sex interaction were included as covariates. Models were re-run with a household effect variable.Results: LEH persists across generations in this study population with moderate, significant heritability estimates for presence in four teeth, and count in four teeth (three teeth were significant for both). When a household effect variable was added, no residual heritability remained for LEH count on any tooth. There was no significant household effect for three of the four teeth that had significant heritability estimates for LEH presence. Age was a significant covariate. Further analyses with birth year data revealed a secular trend toward less LEH.Conclusions: This study provides evidence for familial risk of LEH (genetic and environmental) that has consequences for the broad use of this skeletal marker of stress.These results have repercussions for archaeological assemblages, or population health studies, where genetic relatives and household groups might be heavily represented.

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“…Interestingly, a mutual interaction between genetic background and epigenetic pathways has been suggested, resulting in a sophisticate modulation of cellular phenotype. Specifically, genetic changes may drive epigeneticsin particular SNPs controlling methylation levels at crucial CpG sites, as reported in several studiesand epigenetics may in turn regulate allele-specific expression of a particular risk variant [15,16].…”

Section: Genetic Versus Epigeneticmentioning

confidence: 97%