A federally funded mouse study has revealed that some inherited traits follow non-Mendelian patterns through epigenetic changes. The research identified hundreds of unexpected DNA methylation events across generations. It also documented the first known natural paramutation in a mammal.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University and Texas A&M University tracked DNA methylation in three generations of mice. They examined 12 known inheritance patterns and found that about 7 percent did not follow classic Mendelian rules. Among these were 54 cases where methylation appeared in offspring without being present in either parent.
