Transgenerational inheritance of altered H3K27me3 in wild-type Caenorhabditis elegans.
- Open access
Transient changes in H3K27me3 in C. elegans persist for multiple generations, affecting fertility and involving specific histone modifications.
- Why it matters: Understanding how epigenetic marks are inherited without DNA mutations is crucial for grasping mechanisms of phenotypic adaptation and inheritance beyond genetic changes.
- What they did: The study developed a system in C. elegans to track transgenerational inheritance of H3K27me3, revealing that alterations depend on SET-32/H3K23me3 for initiation and MES-4/H3K36me3 for maintenance across generations.
- The result: Findings demonstrate that epigenetic inheritance offers a mutation-independent way for organisms to adapt, with potential implications for heritable gene regulation and fertility in wild-type populations.