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Phenotype as Agent for Epigenetic Inheritance

The conventional understanding of phenotype is as a derivative of descent with modification through Darwinian random mutation and natural selection. Recent research has revealed Lamarckian inheritance as a major transgenerational mechanism for environmental action on genomes whose extent is determin...

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Autores principales: Torday, John S., Miller, William B.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2016
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5037349/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27399791
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/biology5030030
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author Torday, John S.
Miller, William B.
author_facet Torday, John S.
Miller, William B.
author_sort Torday, John S.
collection PubMed
description The conventional understanding of phenotype is as a derivative of descent with modification through Darwinian random mutation and natural selection. Recent research has revealed Lamarckian inheritance as a major transgenerational mechanism for environmental action on genomes whose extent is determined, in significant part, by germ line cells during meiosis and subsequent stages of embryological development. In consequence, the role of phenotype can productively be reconsidered. The possibility that phenotype is directed towards the effective acquisition of epigenetic marks in consistent reciprocation with the environment during the life cycle of an organism is explored. It is proposed that phenotype is an active agent in niche construction for the active acquisition of epigenetic marks as a dominant evolutionary mechanism rather than a consequence of Darwinian selection towards reproductive success. The reproductive phase of the life cycle can then be appraised as a robust framework in which epigenetic inheritance is entrained to affect growth and development in continued reciprocal responsiveness to environmental stresses. Furthermore, as first principles of physiology determine the limits of epigenetic inheritance, a coherent justification can thereby be provided for the obligate return of all multicellular eukaryotes to the unicellular state.
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spelling pubmed-50373492016-09-29 Phenotype as Agent for Epigenetic Inheritance Torday, John S. Miller, William B. Biology (Basel) Concept Paper The conventional understanding of phenotype is as a derivative of descent with modification through Darwinian random mutation and natural selection. Recent research has revealed Lamarckian inheritance as a major transgenerational mechanism for environmental action on genomes whose extent is determined, in significant part, by germ line cells during meiosis and subsequent stages of embryological development. In consequence, the role of phenotype can productively be reconsidered. The possibility that phenotype is directed towards the effective acquisition of epigenetic marks in consistent reciprocation with the environment during the life cycle of an organism is explored. It is proposed that phenotype is an active agent in niche construction for the active acquisition of epigenetic marks as a dominant evolutionary mechanism rather than a consequence of Darwinian selection towards reproductive success. The reproductive phase of the life cycle can then be appraised as a robust framework in which epigenetic inheritance is entrained to affect growth and development in continued reciprocal responsiveness to environmental stresses. Furthermore, as first principles of physiology determine the limits of epigenetic inheritance, a coherent justification can thereby be provided for the obligate return of all multicellular eukaryotes to the unicellular state. MDPI 2016-07-08 /pmc/articles/PMC5037349/ /pubmed/27399791 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/biology5030030 Text en © 2016 by the authors; 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 Concept Paper
Torday, John S.
Miller, William B.
Phenotype as Agent for Epigenetic Inheritance
title Phenotype as Agent for Epigenetic Inheritance
title_full Phenotype as Agent for Epigenetic Inheritance
title_fullStr Phenotype as Agent for Epigenetic Inheritance
title_full_unstemmed Phenotype as Agent for Epigenetic Inheritance
title_short Phenotype as Agent for Epigenetic Inheritance
title_sort phenotype as agent for epigenetic inheritance
topic Concept Paper
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5037349/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27399791
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/biology5030030
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