The germ-plasm; a theory of heredity

Weismann, Auǵust; Parker, W. N.; Rönnfeldt, Harriet.

doi:10.5962/bhl.title.11331

Cited by 18 publications

(8 citation statements)

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“…The germline is the immortal cell lineage that transmits the genome between generations. Understanding the segregation of germline and soma was a key step in our understanding of evolution [ 1 ] because once the germline is segregated, mutations that occur in somatic tissues cannot be inherited. It is typically understood that germline segregation occurs early in the development of most animals and late in the development of most plants [ 2 – 7 ].…”

Section: Why Care?mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Do plants have a segregated germline?

Lanfear

2018

PLoS Biol

108

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For the last 100 years, it has been uncontroversial to state that the plant germline is set aside late in development, but there is surprisingly little evidence to support this view. In contrast, much evolutionary theory and several recent empirical studies seem to suggest the opposite—that the germlines of some and perhaps most plants may be set aside early in development. But is this really the case? How much does it matter? How can we reconcile the new evidence with existing knowledge of plant development? And is there a way to reliably establish the timing of germline segregation in both model and nonmodel plants? Answering these questions is vital to understanding one of the most fundamental aspects of plant development and evolution.

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Section: Why Care?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Segregation is important because once the germline cell lineage is segregated from the somatic cell lineages, mutations occurring in somatic cells cannot be inherited. It was this observation that formed the basis of Weismann’s famous germ/soma distinction [ 1 ].…”

Section: What Is Germline Segregation?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Do plants have a segregated germline?

Lanfear

2018

PLoS Biol

108

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“…Weismann Parker & Rönnfeldt (1893) state that His's theory of organ‐forming regions was the first, albeit imperfect, expression of the predestination of cells. They argue that His's theory correctly suggests that the ‘differentiating principle’ of development lies within the cell itself and not in external influences (Weismann et al ., 1893, pp. 134–135).…”

Section: The Influence and Fate Of His's Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

The revolutionary developmental biology ofWilhelmHis,Sr.

Richardson

Keuck²

2022

Biological Reviews

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Swiss-born embryologist Wilhelm His, Sr. was the first scientist to study embryos using paraffin histology, serial sectioning and three-dimensional modelling. With these techniques, His made many important discoveries in vertebrate embryology and developmental neurobiology, earning him two Nobel Prize nominations. He also developed several theories of mechanical and evolutionary developmental biology. His argued that adult form is determined by the differential growth of developmental primordia. Furthermore, he suggested that changes in the growth parameters of those primordia are responsible for generating new phenotypes during evolution. His developed these theories in his book 'Our Bodily Form' (Unsere Körperform). Here, we review His's work with special emphasis on its potential importance to the disciplines of evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo) and mechanobiology.

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“…In the 19th century, before the chromosomal theory of inheritance, scientists argued over the role that the nucleus plays in transmission of information to the next generation. Hertwig, Strasburger, von Kolliker, and Weismann, hypothesized that the nucleus is the carrier of hereditary properties (Churchill, 1987;Weismann, 1893), while other contemporaries, most notably the Swiss botanist Carl Nägeli, believed that the heritable agents ignore cellular and sub-cellular boundaries (Nägeli claimed that the hereditary substance is somewhere in the "protoplasm") (Rogers, 2014, pages 136-137). Similarly, Darwin believed in soma-to-germline inheritance of extra-nuclear information (via "gemmules'', reviewed in : Bowler, 2003;Liu, 2008Liu, , 2018.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nucleus-Independent Transgenerational Small RNA Inheritance inC. elegans

Rieger

Weintraub

Lev

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Studies using C. elegans nematodes demonstrated that, against the dogma, animals can transmit epigenetic information transgenerationally. While it is now clear that in these worms ancestral RNA interference (RNAi) responses continue to regulate gene expression for many generations, it is still debated whether the primary agent that perpetuates heritable silencing is RNA or chromatin, and whether the information is communicated to the next generation inside or outside of the nucleus. Here we take advantage of the tractability of gene-specific double stranded RNA-induced heritable silencing to answer these questions. We demonstrate that RNAi can be inherited independently of any changes to the chromatin or any other nuclear factors via mothers that are genetically engineered to transmit only their ooplasm but not the oocytes' nuclei to the next generation. Nucleus-independent RNA inheritance depends on ZNFX-1, an RNA-binding germ granule resident protein. We find that upon manipulation of normal germ granules functions (in pptr-1 mutants) nucleus-independent RNA inheritance becomes stronger, and can occur even in znfx-1 mutants. Utilizing RNA sequencing, chimeric worms, and sequence polymorphism between different C. elegans isolates, we identify endogenous small RNAs which, similarly to exogenous siRNAs, are inherited in a nucleus-independent manner. From an historical perspective, nucleus-independent inheritance of small RNAs might be regarded as partial vindication of discredited cytoplasmic inheritance theories from the 19th century, such as Darwin's "pangenesis" theory.

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The germ-plasm; a theory of heredity

Cited by 18 publications

References 0 publications

Do plants have a segregated germline?

Do plants have a segregated germline?

The revolutionary developmental biology ofWilhelmHis,Sr.

Nucleus-Independent Transgenerational Small RNA Inheritance inC. elegans

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