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MoobyTheGoldenSock t1_j0c3ucn wrote

Reply to comment by EmilyU1F984 in Will my kids inherit the genetic mutations that I aquire during my lifetime? by RedditScoutBoy

Not fully irrelevant. That damage can still be passed in some form via epigenetics.

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futurettt t1_j0dcvm7 wrote

Wouldn't the epigenetic modulation have to be implemented in germ line cells (in testes/ovaries)

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MoobyTheGoldenSock t1_j0dftxe wrote

Yes. But that’s the entire point: epigenetic factors can and do affect gametes. You can have a surgery that results in DNA methylation that in turn affects your sperm that in turn gets passed to your offspring:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4548616

Obviously, genetics is still by and large the main determiner, but epigenetics can result in genes being expressed or silenced in offspring.

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