DREAMSTIME, BAZIL8
Over the past several years, evolutionary biologists have come around to the idea that traits don’t need to be encoded in an organism’s DNA to be passed down to their offspring. Rather, epigenetic changes to one’s genome is often sufficient. Now, a new study shows that this non-genetic inheritance applies to stress in rats—and can affect at least two generations down the line.
According to a new study published yesterday (May 21) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the male descendants of rats that were exposed to the fungicide Vinclozolin while pregnant are more anxious and sensitive to stress. The fungicide is believed to effect such changes by disrupting androgen receptor signaling, thus altering the DNA methylation in the male germline. ...
