Korean Job Discussion Forums

[El Exigente]

Vicki Nelson and colleagues at Case Western Med Sch have done an interesting experiment. They created two sets of male mice, genetically identical except that one set possessed its own Y chromosome whereas the other possessed a Y chromosome from another mouse strain. They bred the mice and studied the behavior of the female offspring. Because females don't inherit Y chromosomes, the females from the two sets of fathers were genetically identical to each other, so according to Mendelian genetics they shouldn't show any inherited differences in behavior. Nevertheless, the two sets of daughters differed consistently from each other on about one-third of all the behavioral tests employed.

According to the researchers' estimates, the strength of these effects was about the same as the conventional genetic effects of Y chromosomes on (male) offspring. This suggests that transgenerational epigenomic effects on behavior -- perhaps including sexual behavior -- can be quite substantial.

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/fm/epi/2010/00000002/00000004/art00006

[Louis VI]

Daughters inherit traits of their father in addition to those of their mother? That's not exactly breaking news. Why the focus on chromosomes when the x chromosomes contain genes from both parents so of course genetic influences would be likewise?

[El Exigente]

You completely missed the significance of the article which is that the daughters were genetically identical, yet differed in significant ways. The only difference was the fathers' Y-chromosomes (which, obviously, the female offspring did not inherit).

Not exactly Mendelian genetics.