Epigenetic mechanisms can stably maintain gene expression states even after the initiating conditions have changed. Often epigenetic information is transmitted only to daughter cells, but evidence is emerging, in both vertebrate and invertebrate systems, for transgenerational epigenetic inheritance (TEI), the transmission of epigenetic gene regulatory information across generations. Each new description of TEI helps uncover the properties, molecular mechanisms and biological roles for TEI. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has been particularly instrumental in the effort to understand TEI, as multiple environmental and genetic triggers can initiate an epigenetic signal that can alter the expression of both transgenes and endogenous loci. Here, we review recent studies of TEI in C. elegans.

表观遗传机制可以稳定地维持基因表达状态，即使启动条件已经改变。通常，表观遗传信息仅传递给子代细胞，但是在脊椎动物和无脊椎动物系统中，越来越多的证据表明跨代表观遗传遗传（TEI），即跨代表观遗传基因调控信息的传递。对TEI的每个新描述都有助于揭示TEI的性质，分子机理和生物学作用。线虫秀丽隐杆线虫在理解TEI方面特别有用，因为多种环境和遗传触发因素均可引发表观遗传信号，从而改变转基因和内源基因座的表达。在这里，我们回顾线虫的TEI的最新研究。