Figure 1.

Schematic representation of the diversity of inheritance players, without modification of the DNA sequence. They are involved in the modification of gene expression. These modifications include histone sumoylation, methylation, acetylation, ubiquitination, miRNA, DNA methylation, RNA methylation and other non-coding RNAs. miRNA may be transported by extracellular vesicles. When the gene promotor is targeted by epigenetic changes, it directly affects gene expression. Such epigenetic modifications may affect both spermatozoa and oocytes. (miRNA: microRNA, piRNA: piwi-interacting RNA, tRNA: transfer RNA, lncRNA: long non-coding RNA, mRNA: messenger RNA).