Epigenetic inheritance in evolution

E. Jablonka*, M. J. Lamb

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

135 Scopus citations

Abstract

We discuss the role of cell memory in heredity and evolution. We describe the properties of the epigenetic inheritance systems (EISs) that underlie cell memory and enable environmentally and developmentally induced cell phenotypes to be transmitted in cell lineages, and argue that transgenerational epigenetic inheritance is an important and neglected part of heredity. By looking at the part EISs have played in the evolution of multicellularity, ontogeny, chromosome organization, and the origin of some post-mating isolating mechanisms, we show how considering the role of epigenetic inheritance can sometimes shed light on major evolutionary processes.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)159-183
Number of pages25
JournalJournal of Evolutionary Biology
Volume11
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 1998

Keywords

  • Acquired characters
  • Chromosome organization
  • Epialleles
  • Multicellularity
  • Post-mating isolation

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