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23 - Genomic Imprinting Is Critical for Understanding the Development and Adaptive Design of Psychological Mechanisms in Humans and Other Animals

from Part VI - Evolution and Development

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 March 2020

By
William M. Brown
Edited by
Lance Workman ,
Will Reader  and
Jerome H. Barkow
Lance Workman
Affiliation:
University of South Wales
Will Reader
Affiliation:
Sheffield Hallam University
Jerome H. Barkow
Affiliation:
Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia
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Summary

Genomic imprinting is genotype-independent parent-of-origin gene expression. It is a well-understood example of epigenetic inheritance, as the environment (i.e., whether a gene resided in the egg or sperm in the previous generation) leaves a reversible mark on offspring DNA. These marks are erased when the offspring produces its own gametes (i.e., sperm or egg), so that new parent-of-origin marks can be placed. The phenotypic effects of imprinted genes are significant, especially in terms of growth and neurobiology. Imprinted genes are rare in mammalian genomes, but here I make the case for the idea that they are critically important for our understanding of how natural selection shaped functional adaptations. There are approximately 100 imprinted genes in humans that have differentially methylated regions by parent of origin. The effects of imprinted genes are species, isoform (i.e., alternative transcripts), tissue, and developmentally dependent.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Behavior , pp. 276 - 283
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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