Department of Psychology, Columbia University, 1190 Amsterdam Avenue, Room 406 Schermerhorn Hall, New York, NY 10027, USA
Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing St, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK.
Proc Biol Sci. 2018 Mar 14;285(1874). doi: 10.1098/rspb.2018.0118.
The paternal transmission of environmentally induced phenotypes across generations has been reported to occur following a number of qualitatively different exposures and appear to be driven, at least in part, by epigenetic factors that are inherited via the sperm. However, previous studies of paternal germline transmission have not addressed the role of mothers in the propagation of paternal effects to offspring. We hypothesized that paternal exposure to nutritional restriction would impact male mate quality and subsequent maternal reproductive investment with consequences for the transmission of paternal germline effects. In the current report, using embryo transfer in mice, we demonstrate that sperm factors in adult food restricted males can influence growth rate, hypothalamic gene expression and behaviour in female offspring. However, under natural mating conditions females mated with food restricted males show increased pre- and postnatal care, and phenotypic outcomes observed during embryo transfer conditions are absent or reversed. We demonstrate that these compensatory changes in maternal investment are associated with a reduced mate preference for food restricted males and elevated gene expression within the maternal hypothalamus. Therefore, paternal experience can influence offspring development via germline inheritance, but mothers can serve as a modulating factor in determining the impact of paternal influences on offspring development.
已有研究报告称，在经历多种不同性质的环境暴露后，亲代的表型会在代际间传递，这种传递似乎至少部分是由通过精子遗传的表观遗传因素驱动的。然而，之前关于亲代生殖细胞传递的研究并未探讨母亲在将亲代效应传递给后代方面的作用。我们假设，雄性亲体经历营养限制会影响雄性的交配质量，以及随后雌性的生殖投资，从而影响亲代生殖细胞效应的传递。在本报告中，我们使用小鼠胚胎移植技术证明，处于食物限制状态的成年雄性的精子因素会影响雌性后代的生长速度、下丘脑基因表达和行为。然而，在自然交配条件下，与食物限制雄性交配的雌性会增加产前和产后护理，而在胚胎移植条件下观察到的表型结果则不存在或相反。我们证明，这种母性行为投资的代偿性变化与对食物限制雄性的交配偏好降低以及母体内下丘脑基因表达升高有关。因此，亲代经验可以通过生殖细胞遗传影响后代的发育，但母亲可以作为一个调节因素，决定亲代对后代发育的影响。
