Paternal diet induces transgenerational epigenetic inheritance of DNA methylation signatures and phenotypes in sheep model

Camila Urbano Braz, Todd Taylor, Hadjer Namous, Jessica Townsend, Thomas Crenshaw, Hasan Khatib

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance (TEI) requires transmission of environmentally induced epigenetic changes and associated phenotypes to subsequent generations without continued exposure to the environmental factor that originated the change. TEI is well-established in plants and Caenorhabditis elegans; however, occurrence in mammals is debated and poorly understood. Here, we examined whether paternal diet from weaning to puberty-induced changes in sperm DNA methylation that were transmitted to subsequent generations. Over 100 methylated cytosines, environmentally altered in the F0 generation, were inherited by the F1 and F2 generations. Furthermore, the F0 paternal diet was associated with growth and male fertility phenotypes in subsequent generations. Differentially methylated cytosines were correlated with gene expression. Our results demonstrate that some sperm methylation sites may escape DNA methylation erasure and are transmitted to subsequent generations despite the 2 waves of epigenetic programming: in primordial germ cells and in embryos after fertilization. These results advance our understanding of the complex relationships between nature and nurture.
Original languageEnglish (US)
Article numberpgac040
JournalPNAS Nexus
Volume1
Issue number2
Early online dateApr 14 2022
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2022
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • transgenerational epigenetic inheritance
  • epigenetic reprogramming
  • DNA methylation
  • paternal effect

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

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