Anyone seriously interested in epigenetics would be well advised to track down the work of Eva Jablonka. She writes:
In the last two decades, biologists have become increasingly
aware that epigenetic mechanisms can lead to phenotypic changes
in the next generation through gametic transmission of epigenetic
variations.
The consequences of this for evolutionary thinking are profound, and
the view of evolution that is now emerging is significantly different
from the neo-Darwinian view that dominated evolutionary
thought in the second half of the 20th century.
The existing knowledge of epigenetic systems leaves little doubt
that non-genetic information can be transmitted through the
germline to the next generation, and that internal and external
conditions influence what is transmitted and for how long.
Jablonka. Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology 111 (2013) 99-107
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