[mfld]

Yes, there is extra information in the first cells, in particular regulatory elements such as miRNAs. The headline here is epigenetics.

[cvoss]

There's also some interesting work on understanding the roll of loops in the physical structure of the DNA storage on gene expression. [0] The base sequence of the DNA isn't everything; it may also matter how the DNA gets laid out in space---a feature which can be inherited.

[0] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2638769/