Environmentally induced epigenetic transgenerational inheritance of phenotype and disease

► Clarification of why environmental epigenetics critical for disease etiology. ► Clarification of why epigenetic transgenerational inheritance critical for disease and evolution. ► Clarification of the molecular mechanism involved in how environmental factors affect phenotype. ► Clarification of role epigenetics in disease etiology and phenotypic variation. Environmental epigenetics has an important role in regulating phenotype formation or disease etiology. The ability of environmental factors and exposures early in life to alter somatic cell epigenomes and subsequent development is a critical factor in how environment affects biology. Environmental epigenetics provides a molecular mechanism to explain long term effects of environment on the development of altered phenotypes and “emergent” properties, which the “genetic determinism” paradigm cannot. When environmental factors permanently alter the germ line epigenome, then epigenetic transgenerational inheritance of these environmentally altered phenotypes and diseases can occur. This environmental epigenetic transgenerational inheritance of phenotype and disease is reviewed with a systems biology perspective.