Reply to Soley: DNA methylation marks are stably transferred across generations in honey bees

Soley (1) argues that our study (2) does not prove that “transgenerational [epigenetic] inheritance serv[es] an adaptive role in evolution” in honey bees. This view misrepresents our intent. Our main findings are that in honey bees 1) DNA methylation profiles are much more similar between fathers and daughters than between unrelated males and females of different generations and 2) DNA methylation profiles are conserved across somatic and germline tissues (2). We are agnostic as to whether DNA methylation … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: boris.yagound{at}sydney.edu.au. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1