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EPIGENETICS

Neutral epigenetic inheritance: being prepared for future generations

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology volume 26, pages 391–392 (2019)Cite this article

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Epigenetic memory of silent chromatin often requires robust feedback loops between factors processing small non-coding RNAs and enzymes involved in heterochromatin assembly. A study published in Molecular Cell now demonstrates that these feedback loops can persist in a phenotypically neutral state even when gene expression is reactivated, and that they maintain the potential to reinstall heterochromatin in later generations when conditions change.

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Fig. 1: Models for the establishment and inheritance of epialleles.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiological Chemistry, Biomedical Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany

    Matías Capella & Sigurd Braun

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  1. Matías Capella
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  2. Sigurd Braun
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Correspondence to Sigurd Braun.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Capella, M., Braun, S. Neutral epigenetic inheritance: being prepared for future generations. Nat Struct Mol Biol 26, 391–392 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41594-019-0239-5

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