Epididymosomes: the black box of Darwin's pangenesis?

Abstract

Darwin, in the pangenesis theory, imagined particles, named as 'gemmules', which are released from all ('pan') cells of the body. By cell-cell communication and also circulation through the body, they finally reach the germ cells to participate in the generation ('genesis') of the new individual. It has been shown that circulatory exosomes are affected by environmental stressors and they can reach the parental germ cells. Therefore, in the mirror of his theory, circulatory exosomes could interact with epididymosomes: epididymis-derived exosomes which have a wide spectrum of variation in content and size, are very sensitive to environmental stressors, and may be involved in translating external information to the germ cells. The protein and RNA cargo would be transferred by epididymosomes to sperm during sperm maturation, which would be then delivered to the embryo at fertilization and inherited by offspring. Therefore, in this study, we will briefly discuss Darwin's pangenesis theory and its possible relation with epididymosomes. We believed that epididymosomes could be considered as an attractive candidate for the storage of RNA contents, changing the epigenome of the next generations, and allowing the reappearance acquired characteristics of ancestors. Therefore, epididymosomes, as a black box of Darwin's pangenesis, may unravel parental life history and also disclose the historical events that affect the life of offspring.

Keywords: acquired characteristics / epididymosomes / Lamarck / Darwin’s pangenesis / black box.