Thought to be directly and uniquely dependent from genotypes, the ontogeny of individual phenotypes is much more complicated. Individual genetics, environmental exposures, and their interaction are the three main determinants of individual’s phenotype. This picture has been further complicated a decade ago when the Lamarckian theory of acquired inheritance has been rekindled with the discovery of epigenetic inheritance, according to which acquired phenotypes can be transmitted through fertilization and affect phenotypes across generations. The results of Genome-Wide Association Studies have also highlighted a big degree of missing heritability in genetics and have provided hints that not only acquired phenotypes, but also individual’s genotypes affect phenotypes intergenerationally through indirect genetic effects. Here, we review available examples of indirect genetic effects in mammals, what is known of the underlying molecular mechanisms and their potential impact for our understanding of missing heritability, phenotypic variation. and individual disease risk.

被认为直接和唯一地依赖于基因型，个体表型的个体发育更为复杂。个体遗传学，环境暴露及其相互作用是个体表型的三个主要决定因素。十年前，随着表生遗传的发现重新点燃了拉马克的获得性遗传理论，这一情况变得更加复杂，根据该表观遗传可以通过受精传播并影响几代人的表型。全基因组关联研究的结果也突显了遗传学中高度缺乏遗传性，并提供了暗示，不仅获得性表型，而且个体的基因型都通过间接遗传效应代际影响表型。这里，我们回顾了哺乳动物间接遗传效应的可用例子，了解潜在的分子机制及其对我们对遗漏遗传力，表型变异的理解的潜在影响。和个人疾病风险。