Paternal epigenetic inheritance

Abstract

The experiences of males (i.e., nutritional, hormonal, toxins, social, stress) can induce significant variation in phenotype, and these effects can persist across generations in the offspring of these males (i.e., paternal effects). Investigations of the mechanistic pathways accounting for this phenomenon have implicated epigenetic modifications. Within this framework, environmentally induced epigenetic variation occurs in male gametes and is maintained following pre- and postfertilization epigenetic reprogramming, alters gene activity and phenotype in offspring, and is transmitted to subsequent generations via the germ line. There is increasing evidence in support of this hypothesized epigenetic inheritance, and here we discuss the potential role of DNA methylation, posttranslational histone modifications, and small noncoding RNAs in these intergenerational and transgenerational effects. However, within our expanding understanding of the mechanisms of paternal effects, it is important to incorporate a more inclusive notion of inheritance that includes genetic, epigenetic, and paternal–maternal interplay. In this chapter, the authors discuss the role of these factors in the transmission of paternal effects and consider the adaptive consequence of inherited environmentally induced phenotypes.