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Epigenetic Inheritance and Its Role in Evolutionary Biology: Re-Evaluation and New Perspectives
Epigenetics increasingly occupies a pivotal position in our understanding of inheritance, natural selection and, perhaps, even evolution. A survey of the PubMed database, however, reveals that the great majority (>93%) of epigenetic papers have an intra-, rather than an inter-generational focus,...
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
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MDPI
2016
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Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4929538/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27231949 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/biology5020024 |
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author | Burggren, Warren |
author_facet | Burggren, Warren |
author_sort | Burggren, Warren |
collection | PubMed |
description | Epigenetics increasingly occupies a pivotal position in our understanding of inheritance, natural selection and, perhaps, even evolution. A survey of the PubMed database, however, reveals that the great majority (>93%) of epigenetic papers have an intra-, rather than an inter-generational focus, primarily on mechanisms and disease. Approximately ~1% of epigenetic papers even mention the nexus of epigenetics, natural selection and evolution. Yet, when environments are dynamic (e.g., climate change effects), there may be an “epigenetic advantage” to phenotypic switching by epigenetic inheritance, rather than by gene mutation. An epigenetically-inherited trait can arise simultaneously in many individuals, as opposed to a single individual with a gene mutation. Moreover, a transient epigenetically-modified phenotype can be quickly “sunsetted”, with individuals reverting to the original phenotype. Thus, epigenetic phenotype switching is dynamic and temporary and can help bridge periods of environmental stress. Epigenetic inheritance likely contributes to evolution both directly and indirectly. While there is as yet incomplete evidence of direct permanent incorporation of a complex epigenetic phenotype into the genome, doubtlessly, the presence of epigenetic markers and the phenotypes they create (which may sort quite separately from the genotype within a population) will influence natural selection and, so, drive the collective genotype of a population. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-4929538 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2016 |
publisher | MDPI |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-49295382016-07-07 Epigenetic Inheritance and Its Role in Evolutionary Biology: Re-Evaluation and New Perspectives Burggren, Warren Biology (Basel) Essay Epigenetics increasingly occupies a pivotal position in our understanding of inheritance, natural selection and, perhaps, even evolution. A survey of the PubMed database, however, reveals that the great majority (>93%) of epigenetic papers have an intra-, rather than an inter-generational focus, primarily on mechanisms and disease. Approximately ~1% of epigenetic papers even mention the nexus of epigenetics, natural selection and evolution. Yet, when environments are dynamic (e.g., climate change effects), there may be an “epigenetic advantage” to phenotypic switching by epigenetic inheritance, rather than by gene mutation. An epigenetically-inherited trait can arise simultaneously in many individuals, as opposed to a single individual with a gene mutation. Moreover, a transient epigenetically-modified phenotype can be quickly “sunsetted”, with individuals reverting to the original phenotype. Thus, epigenetic phenotype switching is dynamic and temporary and can help bridge periods of environmental stress. Epigenetic inheritance likely contributes to evolution both directly and indirectly. While there is as yet incomplete evidence of direct permanent incorporation of a complex epigenetic phenotype into the genome, doubtlessly, the presence of epigenetic markers and the phenotypes they create (which may sort quite separately from the genotype within a population) will influence natural selection and, so, drive the collective genotype of a population. MDPI 2016-05-25 /pmc/articles/PMC4929538/ /pubmed/27231949 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/biology5020024 Text en © 2016 by the author; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
spellingShingle | Essay Burggren, Warren Epigenetic Inheritance and Its Role in Evolutionary Biology: Re-Evaluation and New Perspectives |
title | Epigenetic Inheritance and Its Role in Evolutionary Biology: Re-Evaluation and New Perspectives |
title_full | Epigenetic Inheritance and Its Role in Evolutionary Biology: Re-Evaluation and New Perspectives |
title_fullStr | Epigenetic Inheritance and Its Role in Evolutionary Biology: Re-Evaluation and New Perspectives |
title_full_unstemmed | Epigenetic Inheritance and Its Role in Evolutionary Biology: Re-Evaluation and New Perspectives |
title_short | Epigenetic Inheritance and Its Role in Evolutionary Biology: Re-Evaluation and New Perspectives |
title_sort | epigenetic inheritance and its role in evolutionary biology: re-evaluation and new perspectives |
topic | Essay |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4929538/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27231949 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/biology5020024 |
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