Epigenetics: Father's diet affect offspring (Introduction)

by David Turell , Monday, January 04, 2016, 15:08 (3041 days ago) @ David Turell

Mouse experiments show the effects on glucose tolerance:-http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-01-father-diet-impact-offspring.html-"In the first study, the team fed one group of mice a high fat diet, while another group was fed a normal diet. Sperm was harvested from both groups and used to impregnate female mice. Offspring had their weight monitored along with their level of glucose intolerance and insulin resistance. The team repots that the offspring of the males fed the high fat diets did not gain more weight than those from the control group, but they did develop an impaired resistance to insulin and glucose intolerance—precursors to diabetes. To ensure that the change was due to tRNA fragments, the team ran the same experiment again, but the second time around they purified the RNA before injection into the eggs. The resulting offspring developed intolerance to glucose but did not develop insulin resistance.-"In the second study, the researchers conducted the same type of experiment but had the male study group eat a low-protein diet. The team reports they found no differences between the offspring except for changes to a group of genes that are responsible for the development of stem cells."-Comment: Our population is heavier. We see more diabetes. The study makes the point.