Habits and genetic inheritance: Lamarck's revenge?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33393/gcnd.2021.2289Keywords:
Epigenetic inheritance, Epigenome, Genome, Habits, MicrobiomeAbstract
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.
Downloads
References
Gurdon JB. From nuclear transfer to nuclear reprogramming: the reversal of cell differentiation. Annu Rev Cell Dev Biol. 2006;22(1):1-22. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.cellbio.22.090805.140144 PMID:16704337
Lambrot R, Xu C, Saint-Phar S, et al. Low paternal dietary folate alters the mouse sperm epigenome and is associated with negative pregnancy outcomes. Nat Commun. 2013;4(1):2889. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms3889 PMID:24326934
Zenk F, Loeser E, Schiavo R, Kilpert F, Bogdanović O, Iovino N. Germ line-inherited H3K27me3 restricts enhancer function during maternal-to-zygotic transition. Science. 2017;357(6347):212-216. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aam5339 PMID:28706074
Jirtle RL, Skinner MK. Environmental epigenomics and disease susceptibility. Nat Rev Genet. 2007;8(4):253-262. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg2045 PMID:17363974
Tang W-Y, Ho SM. Epigenetic reprogramming and imprinting in origins of disease. Rev Endocr Metab Disord. 2007;8(2):173-182. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11154-007-9042-4 PMID:17638084
de Assis S, Warri A, Cruz MI, et al. High-fat or ethinyl-oestradiol intake during pregnancy increases mammary cancer risk in several generations of offspring. Nat Commun. 2012;3(1):1053. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms2058 PMID:22968699
Gapp K, Jawaid A, Sarkies P, et al. Implication of sperm RNAs in transgenerational inheritance of the effects of early trauma in mice. Nat Neurosci. 2014;17(5):667-669. https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.3695 PMID:24728267
Roberts MD, Brown JD, Company JM, et al. Phenotypic and molecular differences between rats selectively bred to voluntarily run high vs. low nightly distances. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2013;304(11):R1024-R1035. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpregu.00581.2012PMID:23552494
den Hoed M, Brage S, Zhao JH, et al. Heritability of objectively assessed daily physical activity and sedentary behavior. Am J Clin Nutr. 2013;98(5):1317-1325. https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.113.069849 PMID:24047914
Lieberman DE. Is exercise really medicine? an evolutionary perspective. Curr Sports Med Rep. 2015;14(4):313-319. https://doi.org/10.1249/JSR.0000000000000168 PMID:26166056
Schulz LO, Bennett PH, Ravussin E, et al. Effects of traditional and western environments on prevalence of type 2 diabetes in Pima Indians in Mexico and the U.S. Diabetes Care. 2006;29(8):1866-1871. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc06-0138 PMID:16873794
Ravussin E, Valencia ME, Esparza J, Bennett PH, Schulz LO. Effects of a traditional lifestyle on obesity in Pima Indians. Diabetes Care. 1994;17(9):1067-1074. https://doi.org/10.2337/diacare.17.9.1067 PMID:7988310
Esparza J, Fox C, Harper IT, et al. Daily energy expenditure in Mexican and USA Pima indians: low physical activity as a possible cause of obesity. Int J Obes. 2000;24(1):55-59. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0801085 PMID:10702751
Noble D. Conrad Waddington and the origin of epigenetics. J Exp Biol. 2015;218(Pt 6):816-818. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.120071 PMID:25788723
Mattick JS. Rocking the foundations of molecular genetics. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2012;109(41):16400-16401. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1214129109 PMID:23019584
Lederberg J. The microbe’s contribution to biology—50 years after. Int Microbiol. 2006;9(3):155-156. PMID:17061204
Burcelin R, Luche E, Serino M, Amar J. The gut microbiota ecology: a new opportunity for the treatment of metabolic diseases? Front Biosci. 2009;14(1):5107-5117. https://doi.org/10.2741/3589 PMID:19482607
Mans JJ, von Lackum K, Dorsey C, et al. The degree of microbiome complexity influences the epithelial response to infection. BMC Genomics. 2009;10(1):380. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2164-10-380 PMID:19689803
Andrew H. Moeller, Taichi A. Suzuki, Megan Phifer-Rixer, Michael W. Nacham. Trasmission mode of mammalian gut. Science. 2018;26(oct):453-457.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2021 The authors
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors contributing to Giornale di Clinica Nefrologica e Dialisi (GCND) agree to publish their articles under the CC-BY-NC 4.0 license, which allows third parties to re-use the work without permission as long as the work is properly referenced and the use is non-commercial.
Accepted 2021-07-01
Published 2021-07-19
