Research Unit Molecular Biology, Leibniz Institute for Farm Animal Biology (FBN), Dummerstorf, Germany.
PLoS One. 2012;7(4):e34519. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0034519. Epub 2012 Apr 9.
In various animal models pregnancy diets have been shown to affect offspring phenotype. Indeed, the underlying programming of development is associated with modulations in birth weight, body composition, and continual diet-dependent modifications of offspring metabolism until adulthood, producing the hypothesis that the offspring's transcriptome is permanently altered depending on maternal diet.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To assess alterations of the offspring's transcriptome due to gestational protein supply, German Landrace sows were fed isoenergetic diets containing protein levels of either 30% (high protein--HP) or 12% (adequate protein--AP) throughout their pregnancy. Offspring muscle tissue (M. longissimus dorsi) was collected at 94 days post conception (dpc), and 1, 28, and 188 days post natum (dpn) for use with Affymetrix GeneChip Porcine Genome Arrays and subsequent statistical and Ingenuity pathway analyses. Numerous transcripts were found to have altered abundance at 94 dpc and 1 dpn; at 28 dpn no transcripts were altered, and at 188 dpn only a few transcripts showed a different abundance between diet groups. However, when assessing transcriptional changes across developmental time points, marked differences were obvious among the dietary groups. Depending on the gestational dietary exposure, short- and long-term effects were observed for mRNA expression of genes related to cell cycle regulation, energy metabolism, growth factor signaling pathways, and nucleic acid metabolism. In particular, the abundance of transcripts related to cell cycle remained divergent among the groups during development.
Expression analysis indicates that maternal protein supply induced programming of the offspring's genome; early postnatal compensation of the slight growth retardation obvious at birth in HP piglets resulted, as did a permanently different developmental alteration and responsiveness to the common environment of the transcriptome. The transcriptome modulations are interpreted as the molecular equivalent of developmental plasticity of the offspring that necessitates adaptation and maintenance of the organismal phenotype.
在各种动物模型中，妊娠饮食已被证明会影响后代的表型。事实上，发展的潜在编程与出生体重、身体成分的变化以及后代代谢的持续饮食依赖性改变有关，直到成年期，这产生了一个假设，即后代的转录组会根据母体饮食而永久改变。
方法/主要发现：为了评估由于妊娠蛋白质供应而导致后代转录组的改变，德国长白母猪在整个妊娠期内分别喂食含 30%（高蛋白-HP）或 12%（足够蛋白质-AP）蛋白质水平的等能量饮食。在妊娠后第 94 天（dpc）、第 1 天、第 28 天和第 188 天（dpn）采集后代肌肉组织（M. longissimus dorsi），用于 Affymetrix GeneChip 猪基因组阵列，并进行随后的统计和 Ingenuity 途径分析。在 dpc 时和 dpn 时，大量转录本的丰度发生了改变；在 dpn 时 28 天，没有转录本发生改变，只有少数转录本在饮食组之间显示出不同的丰度。然而，当评估跨发育时间点的转录变化时，饮食组之间明显存在明显差异。根据妊娠饮食暴露，与细胞周期调控、能量代谢、生长因子信号通路和核酸代谢相关的基因的 mRNA 表达观察到短期和长期的影响。特别是，与细胞周期相关的转录本的丰度在整个发育过程中在各组之间仍然存在差异。
表达分析表明，母体蛋白质供应诱导了后代基因组的编程；HP 仔猪出生时明显的轻微生长迟缓的早期产后补偿，以及转录组对共同环境的永久性不同发育改变和反应，导致了这一结果。转录组的调节被解释为后代发育可塑性的分子等价物，这需要适应和维持机体表型。
