Embryos Receive Parent-Specific Layers of Information
Following up on last week's article about offspring and mothers' previous sexual partners (in insects, anyway), new research now sheds some additional light on the multi-layered process of how a sperm and egg pass along information needed for successful reproduction.As described in an article published in the journal PLOS Genetics:
Though one layer is the DNA code that is transferred, the new study identifies information not encoded by DNA, a so-called "epigenetic" layer of information that helps the cell interpret the genetic code.In insects this additional "epigenetic" layer of information apparently can come from a previous mate. The question if such or similar mechanisms can also exist in higher organisms, e.g. also in humans, might be far fetched, but not that far, that it precludes a more thorough research. Clearly, there are still plenty of unknown factors in human and non-human reproduction: an area ripe for further research.
It's not too surprising, as it's a new enough field that probably every one of us were taught in school about strict DNA inheritance, with no room for other mechanisms like the emerging field of epigenetics.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/epigenetics.html
Even experts have a hard time accepting it:
"Genetics. It turned out to be more complicated than we thought." --Laura Hercher
"My instinct is deep skepticism" --Kevin Mitchell
https://answersingenesis.org/genetics/epigenetics/epigenetic-changes-let-mice-inherit-their-fathers-fears/
But the fact that humans experience certain epigenetic effects has been rather firmly proven:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epigenetics#Epigenetic_effects_in_humans