#intergenerational effects

Plants, as very adaptable organisms, possess an extraordinary ability to perceive and respond to their ever-changing environment. They can learn and adapt to their surroundings through an ability known as plant memory, which is essential for their survival in a changing world. A recently published review by Gabriela Auge and colleagues in AoB PLANTS explored the current state of knowledge on…

Inheriting Trauma: Holocaust Survivors Pass Trauma to Their Children’s Genes

Pre-conception trauma results in transmission of epigenetic changes from the exposed parents to their children.

An international team lead by Rachel Yehuda, professor at Mount Sinai hospital in New York, and for the molecular analyses Elisabeth Binder, director at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich, studied the genes of 32 Jewish individuals who had been held in concentration camps, experienced torture or had been forced into hiding during the Second World War. The researchers additionally examined the genes of the group’s children who are known to have an increased likelihood of stress disorders, and compared the results with Jewish families living outside Europe during the Holocaust.

The scientists concentrated on epigenetic changes in the FKBP5 gene which has long been the research focus of Elisabeth Binder. “With ‘epigenetic’ we mean all processes that do not change the actual genetic code but alter its accessibility,” explains Elisabeth Binder. “FKPB5 determines how effectively the organism can react to stress hormones, and so regulates the entire stress hormone system. FKBP5 is altered in several diseases such as posttraumatic stress disorder or major depression and has now been associated with intergenerational effects.”