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Cell biology

The persistence of memory

Nature volume 549, pages 343–344 (2017)Cite this article

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Live imaging reveals that whether or not a daughter cell proliferates is influenced by two molecular factors inherited from its mother, providing insight into how the behaviour of a newly born cell can be predetermined. See Letter p.404

A fundamental principle of cell theory is that all cells arise from pre-existing ones. Every cell, except sperm and eggs, inherits an essentially identical copy of its mother's genome, which it then passes on to two daughters when it divides. But it can also inherit a variety of other 'memories' from its mother cell, in the form of proteins, RNA and other biochemical keepsakes. Identifying these molecular memories and understanding how they influence cell behaviour has been a long-standing puzzle. On page 404, Yang et al.1 tackle the question of how molecular memories acquired from the previous generation of cells influence whether daughter cells proliferate or enter a reversible resting state known as quiescence.

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Figure 1: Making cellular memories.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, 27599, North Carolina, USA

    Katarzyna M. Kedziora & Jeremy E. Purvis

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  1. Katarzyna M. Kedziora
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  2. Jeremy E. Purvis
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Correspondence to Katarzyna M. Kedziora or Jeremy E. Purvis.

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Kedziora, K., Purvis, J. The persistence of memory. Nature 549, 343–344 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature23549

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