If a woman gives birth to a child by donor egg, whose characteristics does the child inherit? Is there any difference between this process and the position of a surrogate mother?
Genetic material is passed on through gametes (sperm plus egg). However, the intrauterine environment contributes to development.
The womb's 'environmental' influence might be via gene-alteration:
"The researchers first identified a set of microRNAs present in the nurturing fluid produced by the womb lining, specifically during the crucial 'window of implantation' – the time when the womb is most receptive to an embryo. They then focused on one particular microRNA, called hsa-miR-30d, which they studied further in mice. They found that after it is released by the womb lining, it is taken up into the embryo before implantation. The team then showed that the activity of several genes was 'turned up' in mouse embryos that had taken up the microRNA, compared to those that hadn't.
If confirmed by other teams, and if a similar effect of the microRNA is demonstrated in humans, then this would be a novel epigenetic mechanism through which the mother's genetic material appears to be influencing the activity of some of the embryo's genes. If each of our 20,000 or so protein-coding genes is thought of as having a 'dimmer' type switch, rather than a simple on/off switch, then the study shows that some switches may get turned up or down a bit just before implantation, in response to levels of hsa-miR-30d. However, what this might mean in terms of its effect on subsequent development of the embryo, or the future health of the resulting child, is unknown. As is often the case, more research is needed." —from https://www.bionews.org.uk/page_95263
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