Epigenetics
Heritable changes in gene expression that occur without changes to the underlying DNA sequence. Chemical modifications that turn genes on or off and can be passed to offspring.
Used in the Books
This term appears in 5 chapters:
"...lls, physical properties of the environment, position within the developing organism. These signals activate certain genes and silence others through epigenetic modifications (chemical tags on DNA that control gene expression without changing the DNA sequence itself). Once a cell differentiates, it usually c..."
"...oduction), merge with a competitor (sexual reproduction), acquire different capabilities (horizontal transfer), or adapt your culture to new markets (epigenetics)? Most companies don't realize they're making a biological choice. They just expand and hope their success transfers. It usually doesn't. Because h..."
"...ization ensures flowering only happens after winter is over - when there's time to mature seeds before the next winter. The mechanism: Cold triggers epigenetic changes - chemical tags that silence flowering repressor genes. These tags accumulate week by week during winter."
"...se; the diverse populations immediately possess some individuals preadapted to the new environment, and selection rapidly increases their frequency. Epigenetic variation (heritable changes in gene expression without DNA sequence changes) can also fuel adaptive radiation."
"...onstruction behaviors across many generations. Parental effects beyond genes: Many organisms transmit non-genetic information to offspring via epigenetic modifications (chemical tags on DNA that affect gene expression without changing DNA sequence), maternal effects (traits influenced by the moth..."
Biological Context
Epigenetic marks include DNA methylation and histone modifications. They explain how cells with identical DNA become different cell types, how environment affects gene expression, and how some acquired traits can be inherited. Epigenetics bridges nature and nurture.
Business Application
Organizations have 'epigenetics' too—practices and cultural norms that persist across generations of employees without being formally documented. These inherited behaviors shape organizational phenotype beyond explicit policy.