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Evolutionary biology

Mother and father in surprise genetic agreement

Nature volume 397, pages 19–20 (1999)Cite this article

In genomic imprinting, one copy of a gene is switched off depending on whether it came from the father or mother. One explanation centres on the competing interests of the two parents. Another now brings in sex-associated differences in the offspring.

Even detractors from the idea that genes are selected to maximize their own survival must grudgingly acknowledge beauty in the phenomenon of genomic imprinting. Many genes vary their effects depending upon the environment in which they find themselves; for example, genes for antlers or long canine teeth are frequently silent in females. Other genes spread to the detriment of their hosts. But imprinted genes are altogether more subtle: an imprinted gene behaves differently depending on which parent contributed it to the offspring. It knows whence it came, and the same gene acts one way if contributed by the father and another way if contributed by the mother.

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Figure 1: A father's X chromosome always contributes to a daughter's genetic make-up, the mother's to a son's or a daughter's, meaning that the paternal X chromosome can contribute daughter-specific information on sex differences.

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  1. The School of Animal and Microbial Sciences, University of Reading, Whiteknights, RG6 6AJ, Reading, UK

    Mark Pagel

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  1. Mark Pagel
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Pagel, M. Mother and father in surprise genetic agreement. Nature 397, 19–20 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/16142

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