Dahlen Carl Robertson, Amat Samat, Caton Joel S, Crouse Matthew S, Diniz Wellison Jarles Da Silva, Reynolds Lawrence P
Center for Nutrition and Pregnancy and Department of Animal Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, United States.
Department of Microbiological Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, United States.
Anim Reprod. 2023 Aug 28;20(2):e20230076. doi: 10.1590/1984-3143-AR2023-0076. eCollection 2023.
Paternal programming is the concept that the environmental signals from the sire's experiences leading up to mating can alter semen and ultimately affect the phenotype of resulting offspring. Potential mechanisms carrying the paternal effects to offspring can be associated with epigenetic signatures (DNA methylation, histone modification and non-coding RNAs), oxidative stress, cytokines, and the seminal microbiome. Several opportunities exist for sperm/semen to be influenced during development; these opportunities are within the testicle, the epididymis, or accessory sex glands. Epigenetic signatures of sperm can be impacted during the pre-natal and pre-pubertal periods, during sexual maturity and with advancing sire age. Sperm are susceptible to alterations as dictated by their developmental stage at the time of the perturbation, and sperm and seminal plasma likely have both dependent and independent effects on offspring. Research using rodent models has revealed that many factors including over/under nutrition, dietary fat, protein, and ingredient composition (e.g., macro- or micronutrients), stress, exercise, and exposure to drugs, alcohol, and endocrine disruptors all elicit paternal programming responses that are evident in offspring phenotype. Research using livestock species has also revealed that sire age, fertility level, plane of nutrition, and heat stress can induce alterations in the epigenetic, oxidative stress, cytokine, and microbiome profiles of sperm and/or seminal plasma. In addition, recent findings in pigs, sheep, and cattle have indicated programming effects in blastocysts post-fertilization with some continuing into post-natal life of the offspring. Our research group is focused on understanding the effects of common management scenarios of plane of nutrition and growth rates in bulls and rams on mechanisms resulting in paternal programming and subsequent offspring outcomes. Understanding the implication of paternal programming is imperative as short-term feeding and management decisions have the potential to impact productivity and profitability of our herds for generations to come.
父本编程是指来自雄性在交配前的经历所产生的环境信号能够改变精液，并最终影响后代的表型这一概念。将父本效应传递给后代的潜在机制可能与表观遗传特征（DNA甲基化、组蛋白修饰和非编码RNA）、氧化应激、细胞因子以及精液微生物群有关。在发育过程中，精子/精液有几个阶段可能受到影响；这些阶段包括在睾丸、附睾或附属性腺内。精子的表观遗传特征在产前和青春期前、性成熟期间以及随着雄性年龄的增长都可能受到影响。精子易受干扰时其发育阶段所决定的变化影响，并且精子和精浆可能对后代既有依赖性影响又有独立性影响。使用啮齿动物模型的研究表明，许多因素，包括营养过剩/不足、饮食脂肪、蛋白质和成分组成（例如，常量或微量营养素）、应激、运动以及接触药物、酒精和内分泌干扰物等，都会引发父本编程反应，这些反应在后代表型中很明显。使用家畜物种的研究也表明，雄性年龄、生育水平、营养水平和热应激会导致精子和/或精浆的表观遗传、氧化应激、细胞因子和微生物群特征发生变化。此外，最近在猪、羊和牛身上的研究结果表明，受精后囊胚期存在编程效应，其中一些效应会持续到后代的出生后生活中。我们的研究小组专注于了解公牛和公羊营养水平和生长速度等常见管理情况对导致父本编程及随后后代结果的机制的影响。了解父本编程的影响至关重要，因为短期的饲养和管理决策有可能影响我们畜群未来几代的生产力和盈利能力。
