Epigenetic Research Paper

Phenotypes are the representations of gene activity in an individual; they are the physical characteristics rather than the genetic makeup itself. Though phenotypes are determined by genetic code, they are not permanent; they can shift and change according to the different environments an individual experiences in their life. Environmental factors are an integral part in determining phenotype. The fairly new scientific field on this subject is known as epigenetics, and it “serves as a link between the environment and gene expression” (Choi 1). Epigenetics is any process that can alter gene activity without changing the DNA sequence. This, in turn, leads to modifications in phenotype that can be transmitted to daughter cells and affect future generations. Environmental factors can alter our phenotype by activating or silencing our genes.
However, epigenetic discussion may have occurred centuries ago. Horsager states that, “Charles Darwin first conceptually described a possible biological process for epigenetic inheritance in 1868” (Horsager 2). Epigenetics is newly researched, but ideas of biological inheritance have been in the works for a while now. Darwin described such inheritance in his theory of Pangenesis. He suggested that “Gemmules . . . were imagined particles of inheritance that were shed from the organs of the body and traveled through the bloodstream to the reproductive organs where they would accumulate in the gametes . . . to impact future generations; [causing] a sort of short-term evolutionary change” (Horsager 2). Darwin believed that gemmules caused evolutionary change. Although this was mechanistically incorrect, it was a step in the right direction of linking development to