A paternal environmental legacy: evidence for epigenetic inheritance through the male germ line.

TitleA paternal environmental legacy: evidence for epigenetic inheritance through the male germ line.
Publication TypeJournal Article
AuthorsSoubry, Adelheid, Cathrine Hoyo, Randy L. Jirtle, and Susan K. Murphy
PubMed ID24431278
PubMed Central IDPMC4047566
Grant ListP01 ES022831 / ES / NIEHS NIH HHS / United States
P01ES022831 / ES / NIEHS NIH HHS / United States
R01 DK085173 / DK / NIDDK NIH HHS / United States
R01 ES016772 / ES / NIEHS NIH HHS / United States
R01DK085173 / DK / NIDDK NIH HHS / United States
R01ES016772 / ES / NIEHS NIH HHS / United States

Literature on maternal exposures and the risk of epigenetic changes or diseases in the offspring is growing. Paternal contributions are often not considered. However, some animal and epidemiologic studies on various contaminants, nutrition, and lifestyle-related conditions suggest a paternal influence on the offspring’s future health. The phenotypic outcomes may have been attributed to DNA damage or mutations, but increasing evidence shows that the inheritance of environmentally induced functional changes of the genome, and related disorders, are (also) driven by epigenetic components. In this essay we suggest the existence of epigenetic windows of susceptibility to environmental insults during sperm development. Changes in DNA methylation, histone modification, and non-coding RNAs are viable mechanistic candidates for a non-genetic transfer of paternal environmental information, from maturing germ cell to zygote. Inclusion of paternal factors in future research will ultimately improve the understanding of transgenerational epigenetic plasticity and health-related effects in future generations.

Title A paternal environmental legacy: evidence for epigenetic inheritance through the male germ line.
Publication Title Bioessays
Publication Type Journal Article
Published Year 2014
Authors A. Soubry; C. Hoyo; R.L. Jirtle; S.K. Murphy
ISSN Number 1521-1878
PubMed ID 24431278
PubMed Central ID PMC4047566
Grant List
P01 ES022831 ES NIEHS NIH HHS United States
P01ES022831 ES NIEHS NIH HHS United States
R01 DK085173 DK NIDDK NIH HHS United States
R01 ES016772 ES NIEHS NIH HHS United States
R01DK085173 DK NIDDK NIH HHS United States
R01ES016772 ES NIEHS NIH HHS United States

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