PMC

Activated protein kinases can directly or indirectly change epigenetic marks on DNA and histones. Stress response can also change the 3D structure of chromatin. If sufficiently stable, these epigenetic changes can be heritable by daughter cells, corresponding to passing an ‘epigenetic memory’ of mother’s specific transcriptional states. p: phosphorylation; Me: Methylation; Ac: Acetylation.

A. Anti-stress proteins, mRNAs and miRNAs are passed on to daughter cells during cell division. B. Asymmetrical segregation of damaged molecules generates a ‘damage-protected’ daughter cell at the expense of the mother cell’s being burdened with more damage. C. Sperm carrying miRNAs produced as a result of stress-induction transmits the stress signal to an oocyte during fertilization.

A. In response to various stress stimuli, Msn2 proteins become dephosphorylated and translocate into the nucleus to activate downstream gene expression. PP1: Protein phosphatase 1, PKA: cAMP-dependent protein kinase A, STRE: stress response element. B. Msn2 nuclear localization trajectory of a cell, showing how amplitude, frequency, and duration of Msn2 nuclear localization are quantified. The dashed horizontal line denotes the threshold level above which there would be an Msn2 nuclear localization event. n_i denotes the number of above-the-threshold localization events. T denotes the length of time interval used for the calculation of frequency. Figure panel was taken from .