Soiled Genes
Dec 16, 2005 17:56 Filed in: Science
This month's Orion
Magazine contained a particularly interesting
article on
whether we can inherit from our parents the
effects of pollution and other environmental
insults through epigenomes, methyl molecules
attached to various parts of the DNA molecule that
have the ability to activate genes in response to
environmental changes.
It is must faster to turn on a gene than to come up with a new one. Epigenomes can enable an organism to adapt to new circumstances far faster than by mutation, but they can also do some nasty things to human beings, like turn off cancer suppressors. According the the article, abnormal methylation patterns have also been linked to such conditions as diabetes, obesity, autoimmune diseases, and psychiatric diseases.
The real eye-popper in the article, however, is that epigenomes can be inherited, meaning that rapid adaptations to a changing environment can be passed on from one generation to another, even though DNA is not changed. Methyl molecule groups that activate one gene as opposed to another are inherited, surprisingly bolstering Lamarck's theory that organisms acquire useful traits during their lifetimes and pass it on to their children.
These discoveries aren't going to turn biology upside down, but they will likely force some significant revisions, particularly in evolutionary theory. In particular, they would explain how some organisms are able to change more quickly than is predicted by traditional selection theory.
It is must faster to turn on a gene than to come up with a new one. Epigenomes can enable an organism to adapt to new circumstances far faster than by mutation, but they can also do some nasty things to human beings, like turn off cancer suppressors. According the the article, abnormal methylation patterns have also been linked to such conditions as diabetes, obesity, autoimmune diseases, and psychiatric diseases.
The real eye-popper in the article, however, is that epigenomes can be inherited, meaning that rapid adaptations to a changing environment can be passed on from one generation to another, even though DNA is not changed. Methyl molecule groups that activate one gene as opposed to another are inherited, surprisingly bolstering Lamarck's theory that organisms acquire useful traits during their lifetimes and pass it on to their children.
These discoveries aren't going to turn biology upside down, but they will likely force some significant revisions, particularly in evolutionary theory. In particular, they would explain how some organisms are able to change more quickly than is predicted by traditional selection theory.
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