Abstract
There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that parental environmental conditions can influence the health and longevity of future generations. Recent advances provide crucial insights into the mechanisms of such across-generational epigenetic inheritance. In this chapter, we discuss concepts, evidence, and mechanisms of epigenetic inheritance of parental environmental effects in mammals. This chapter starts with an introduction to epigenetic inheritance via gametes, followed by a brief discussion of germline epigenome and instances of epigenetic inheritance in mammals. Next, this chapter focuses on various environmental exposures studied in maternal and paternal germline and their influence on offspring phenotypes. Finally, potential mechanisms of inter- and transgenerational epigenetic inheritance are explored, including a discussion of the roles of histone modifications, DNA cytosine methylation, and small noncoding RNAs in such inheritance.
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