tRNA fragments: novel players in intergenerational inheritance

Cell Res. 2016 Apr;26(4):395-6. doi: 10.1038/cr.2016.24. Epub 2016 Feb 23.

Abstract

Non-genetic inheritance is an evocative topic; in the past few years, the debate around potential inheritance of life-time experiences independent of social factors in mammals has become highly prominent due to increasing evidence for phenotypes in the offspring after paternal environmental exposures. Strikingly, two independent studies published in Science newly implicate a special class of RNA, transfer RNA fragments, in the intergenerational effects of paternal dietary intervention.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Diet, High-Fat
  • Diet, Protein-Restricted
  • Epigenesis, Genetic
  • Mice
  • Paternal Inheritance*
  • Phenotype
  • RNA, Transfer / physiology*
  • Retroelements

Substances

  • Retroelements
  • RNA, Transfer