FigureĀ 1. Potential molecular mechanisms underlying the transgenerational inheritance of longevity. COMPASS deficiency in the ancestral generation could lead to transgenerational epigenetic inheritance of longevity in descendants by several non-mutually exclusive mechanisms: directly by H3K4me3 dearth at specific loci regulating aging, by proxy through other marks (e.g., H3K4me2, H3K36me3 or H3K9me3), by the production and transmission of non-coding RNAs (e.g., siRNAs, lncRNAs, or piRNAs) or even by the production of inheritable proteins with prion-like qualities.