New epigenetic study: Guinea pig fathers pass on adaptive responses to environmental changes
Friday, December 28, 2018 - 10:40
in Biology & Nature
Adaptations to environmental change are the most important asset for the persistence of any plant or animal species. This is usually achieved through genetic mutation and selection, a slow process driven by chance. Faster and more targeted are so called epigenetic modifications which do not alter the genetic code but promote specialisations during cell maturation. A new study carried out by scientists from the Leibniz-IZW in Germany shows that in wild guinea pigs, epigenetic modifications specific to individual environmental factors are passed on to the next generation. The study is published in the scientific journal Genes.