Habits and genetic inheritance: Lamarck's revenge?

Authors

  • Alessandro Capitanini SOC Nefrologia e Dialisi Ospedale San Jacopo, Pistoia, e ASL Toscana Centro - Italy
  • Francesca Capitanini Facoltà di Medicina Università degli Studi di Firenze, Firenze - Italy

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33393/gcnd.2021.2289

Keywords:

Epigenetic inheritance, Epigenome, Genome, Habits, Microbiome

Abstract

Human phenotype, the set of characteristics manifested by a living organism, is determined by genetic information expression dependent on genome, epigenome and microbiome. There is a kind of bidirectionality between humans and their genome with significant influence by environment and human behaviour. In the timeline of evolution we see that genetic modifications take millions of years to take place and consolidate, as per Darwinian principles, but environment and our habits are able much more rapidly to influence our phenotypic response, through epigenetic and microbiotic pathways, as per Lamarckian hypothesis (Fig. 1). Our habits (physical, psychological, environment) are able to determine changes in gene expression and potentially influence our children’s one. The evidence of these new concepts should be a further stimulus to a more conscious lifestyle.

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