Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41495246›Full record

ReviewThe EMBO journal2026

Epimutations: raw material for evolution?

Nabeel S Ganem, Peter Sarkies

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in The EMBO journal, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Nabeel S GanemDepartment of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Peter SarkiesDepartment of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. peter.sarkies@bioch.ox.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0279-6199

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Epigenetics is fundamental to cell differentiation as it enables cells with identical genomes to adopt distinct fates. Some epigenetic information can also be transmitted between generations, in a process known as transgenerational epigenetic inheritance. This means that potentially epigenetic differences between individuals could contribute to diversity and thus be acted upon by evolution. These epigenetic differences are termed epimutations by analogy to the well-characterized DNA sequence mutations that underpin the standard model of evolution. Here, we evaluate the properties of epimutation, discussing their rate, genome-wide distribution, stability, and effects. Focusing on epimutations in animals, particularly the nematode C. elegans, we explore how epimutations compare to DNA sequence mutations in their potential to influence the processes of drift and natural selection that characterize evolution.

Indexed as

Biological EvolutionCaenorhabditis elegansEpigenesis, GeneticEvolution, MolecularMutationAnimalsSelection, GeneticChromatinEpigeneticsEvolutionPopulation GeneticsSmall Non-coding RNAs

Identifiers

PMID41495246
PMCPMC12993070

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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 Socratic graph.