All phenotypic changes acquired during a lifetime are strictly uninheritable
The claim that all phenotypic changes acquired during a lifetime are strictly uninheritable is refuted by modern research in transgenerational epigenetics, which demonstrates that certain environmentally induced acquired traits can be transmitted across generations.
The absolute claim that acquired phenotypic changes are strictly uninheritable is directly contradicted by an overwhelming body of modern molecular biology and epigenetic literature (e.g., papers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9). These studies demonstrate that environmental influences, somatic changes, and epigenetic markers can indeed cross the Weismann barrier and affect subsequent generations, thereby invalidating the strict neo-Darwinian dogma of uninheritability.
E. Steele, Reginald M. Gorczynski, R. Lindley, Yongsheng Liu, R. Temple, G. Tokoro, D. Wickramasinghe, N. C. Wickramasinghe. Lamarck and Panspermia - On the Efficient Spread of Living Systems Throughout the Cosmos.. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2019.08.010
Reviews evidence demonstrating transgenerational inheritance of environmentally-induced acquired characteristics, challenging the strictness of the Weismann barrier.
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D. Noble. Exosomes, gemmules, pangenesis and Darwin. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-816053-4.00021-3
Shows that exosomes cross the Weismann barrier to transmit somatic effects to germline cells, supporting transgenerational epigenetic inheritance.
V. Gowri, Antónia Monteiro. Inheritance of Acquired Traits in Insects and Other Animals and the Epigenetic Mechanisms That Break the Weismann Barrier. 2021. https://doi.org/10.3390/jdb9040041
Demonstrates that novel environmental stimuli can generate altered phenotypic traits transmitted to offspring via epigenetic mechanisms.
Nilsson EE, Maamar MB, Skinner MK. Environmentally Induced Epigenetic Transgenerational Inheritance and the Weismann Barrier: The Dawn of Neo-Lamarckian Theory.. 2020. https://doi.org/10.3390/jdb8040028
Argues that the doctrine of the Weismann barrier is incorrect and that environmental epigenetics requires a re-evaluation of inheritance theory.
Korolenko A, Skinner MK. Generational stability of epigenetic transgenerational inheritance facilitates adaptation and evolution.. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1080/15592294.2024.2380929
Presents evidence that epigenetic alterations and transgenerational epigenetic inheritance allow environmental factors to alter phenotypic variation.
Chee Kiang Ewe, O. Rechavi. The third barrier to transgenerational inheritance in animals: somatic epigenetic resetting. 2023. https://doi.org/10.15252/embr.202256615
Discusses how acquired responses to environmental factors may perpetuate across multiple generations through transgenerational epigenetic inheritance.
Wang HD, Allard P. Challenging dogmas: How transgenerational epigenetics reshapes our views on life.. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1002/jez.2465
Concludes that the demonstrated transfer of environmental information from soma to germ cells puts an end to the strict principle of the Weismann barrier.
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