Now Reading: Study finds 500+ cases of non-Mendelian inheritance in mice
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Study finds 500+ cases of non-Mendelian inheritance in mice
A Johns Hopkins-led team has found over 500 instances of non-Mendelian epigenetic inheritance in mice, reported in Nature Genetics. Using nanopore sequencing, they examined methylation patterns, chemical switches that turn genes on…
The Story in Brief
A Johns Hopkins-led team has found over 500 instances of non-Mendelian epigenetic inheritance in mice, reported in Nature Genetics. Using nanopore sequencing, they examined methylation patterns, chemical switches that turn genes on or off without changing the DNA sequence. While 93% of the 7,600 locations followed Mendel's rules, the rest showed sex-specific methylation, genomic imprinting, and paramutation. The latter, where a gene's methylation status copies itself from one parent's copy to the other, was observed naturally in a mammal for the first time in the Capn11 gene, linked to male fertility. The findings may reshape understanding of inherited traits in humans.
The Indian Opinion
The coverage naturally leans toward 'Mendel was wrong' or 'a revolution in genetics'. But 93% of methylation patterns still followed his rules. The real story is not a rejection of Mendel but a new layer of complexity. The hype around paramutation 'explaining everything' from infertility to hypertrichosis is premature. These are mouse findings. The concrete test will be replicating the paramutation mechanism in human cells, not just in ancient viral remnants. Does Capn11's paramutation actually cause infertility in mice, or is it just correlated?
Source: thehindu.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
