Most biological traits are inherited through genes, but there are exceptions to this rule. Florian Steiner‘s and Monica Gotta‘s groups have been investigating the location of centromeres – specific sites on chromosomes that are essential for cell division. They found that in the small worm Caenorhabiditis elegans, the transmission of the correct location of these sites to the offspring is not mediated by genes, but by an epigenetic memory mechanism.

The article was published in the journal PLOS Biology, on July 6th 2021.
Check out the UNIGE press release and Reinier Prosée’s short animated video.