On 18 Feb 2004, "John Edser" wrote:

.......................................................
>This
>means that any supposed epigenetic inheritance (the inheritance
>of a controlling substance to a joint sub system above the gene level)
>can in principle, control the rigidity /flexibility of this jointly
>selected sub system within the same fertile form. This means the _total_
>amount of melatonin per unit time and the way this effects diverse other
>sub systems and the flexibility or otherwise of this melatonin secretion
>as is controlled by the said sensory system is as a whole is potentially
>controllable via  an epigenetic form of inheritance. To my knowledge no such
>system has been identified in this specific case. 

I agree with you that from a single case of epigenetic control of the
expression of melatonin genes in the pineal cells one may not conclude the
existence of the epigenetic system of inheritance predicted already by
J.Maynard Smith.

But would you agree with me that the existence of an  epigenetic system of
inheritance could not be reasonably denied if

1. The epigenetic control of the expression of nonhousekeeping genes proves to
be a general mode of expression of (nonhousekeeping) genes in the CNS, and 

2. The expression of nonhousekeeping genes in extraneural cells is
epigenetically regulated by signals from the CNS?

Regards,
N.C.
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