The sixth and final lecture dealt with the heritability of transcriptional states and epigenetic marks across generations. In plants, this has been clearly established. In mammals, however, there are currently few examples where such heritability has been clearly established. The ultimate question - the importance of epigenetic processes in evolution - was also addressed during the lecture, as well as in the seminar that followed, held by Dr. Troy Day. So what role do sporadic or environmentally-induced epigenetic changes that are transmitted over several generations play in evolutionary processes? The scientific community remains very divided, and one central question remains: are epigenetic states transmitted over a sufficient number of generations to give rise to natural selection?
16:00 - 17:30
