ArticleBiology letters2012
Evidence for an epigenetic role in inbreeding depression.
Article in Biology letters, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 40 papers.
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Who cites it
40 citing papers in PubMed, 114 citations in OpenAlex.
- Not just mutations: inbreeding depression persists without genetic variation.Evolution letters · 2026Article
- Q&A: inbreeding and its implications for conservation.BMC biology · 2025Article
- An evergrowing sweet cherry for research and breeding.Frontiers in plant science · 2025Article
- Generational stability of epigenetic transgenerational inheritance facilitates adaptation and evolution.Epigenetics · 2024Review
- Draft Genome of Akame (Lates Japonicus) Reveals Possible Genetic Mechanisms for Long-Term Persistence and Adaptive Evolution with Low Genetic Diversity.Genome biology and evolution · 2024Article
- The evolutionary consequences of interactions between the epigenome, the genome and the environment.Evolutionary applications · 2024Review
- The evolutionary ecology of inbreeding depression in wild plant populations and its impact on plant mating systems.Frontiers in plant science · 2024Review
- Epigenetic changes to gene pathways linked to male fertility in ex situ black-footed ferrets.Evolutionary applications · 2024Article
- Ecological interactions affect the bioactivity of medicinal plants.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Experimental DNA Demethylation Reduces Expression Plasticity and Thermal Tolerance in Pacific Oysters.Marine biotechnology (New York, N.Y.) · 2023Article
- Epigenetic Changes Occurring in Plant Inbreeding.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Developmental alterations in DNA methylation during gametogenesis from primordial germ cells to sperm.iScience · 2022Article
- Adverse effects of inbreeding on the transgenerational expression of herbivore-induced defense traits in Solanum carolinense.PloS one · 2022Article
- Epigenetic models developed for plains zebras predict age in domestic horses and endangered equids.Communications biology · 2021Article
- An epigenetic basis of inbreeding depression in maize.Science advances · 2021Article
- Identification of genes involved in inbreeding depression of reproduction in Langshan chickens.Animal bioscience · 2021Article
- Rearing environment affects the genetic architecture and plasticity of DNA methylation in Chinook salmon.Heredity · 2021Article
- Experimental DNA Demethylation Associates with Changes in Growth and Gene Expression of Oak Tree Seedlings.G3 (Bethesda, Md.) · 2020Article
- Transgenerational impacts of herbivory and inbreeding on reproductive output in Solanum carolinense.American journal of botany · 2020Article
- Contrasting DNA methylation responses of inbred fish lines to different rearing environments.Epigenetics · 2019Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Inbreeding depression (i.e. negative fitness effects of inbreeding) is central in evolutionary biology, affecting numerous aspects of population dynamics and demography, such as the evolution of mating systems, dispersal behaviour and the genetics of quantitative traits. Inbreeding depression is commonly observed in animals and plants. Here, we demonstrate that, in addition to genetic processes, epigenetic processes may play an important role in causing inbreeding effects. We compared epigenetic markers of outbred and inbred offspring of the perennial plant Scabiosa columbaria and found that inbreeding increases DNA methylation. Moreover, we found that inbreeding depression disappears when epigenetic variation is modified by treatment with a demethylation agent, linking inbreeding depression firmly to epigenetic variation. Our results suggest an as yet unknown mechanism for inbreeding effects and demonstrate the importance of evaluating the role of epigenetic processes in inbreeding depression.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.