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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 Jan 1.
Published in final edited form as: Annu Rev Pharmacol Toxicol. 2012 Sep 27;53:59–87. doi: 10.1146/annurev-pharmtox-010611-134540

Figure 6. Contribution of epigenetic modifications throughout life cycle.

Figure 6

Environmental challenges, such as stress, have been associated with several short- and long-term chromatin modifications in the brain affecting neural development and function. Gametes and primordial germ cells are also sensitive to stress and might carry epigenetic transformation through subsequent generations. The development of germ cells is characterized by the genome-wide demethylation of DNA in gametes and the establishment of parental chromatin marks required for genomic imprinting. Following fertilization, there is another genome-wide DNA demethylation phase. However, some epigenetic marks escape such reprogramming (imprinted genes, DNA methylation at specific location, some histone post-translational modifications). Moreover, thousands of non-coding RNAs present in the gametes could transmit their information and potentially affect the cellular phenotype in a non-genomic manner. Modified with permission from 41.