Dahlen Carl R, Ramírez-Zamudio Germán D, Bochantin-Winders Kerri A, Hurlbert Jennifer L, Crouse Matthew S, McLean Kyle J, Diniz Wellison J S, Amat Samat, Snider Alexandria P, Caton Joel S, Reynolds Lawrence P
North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58108.
North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58108; University of São Paulo, Pirassununga, SP, 13635-900, Brazil.
J Dairy Sci. 2025 Jul;108(7):7710-7722. doi: 10.3168/jds.2024-25800. Epub 2024 Dec 20.
Recent evidence suggests that environmental factors experienced by sires can be transmitted through the ejaculate (seminal plasma + sperm) into the female reproductive tract, influencing fertilization, embryo development, and postnatal offspring outcomes. This concept is termed paternal programming. In rodents, sire nutrition has been shown to directly alter offspring outcomes through sperm epigenetic signatures, DNA damage and oxidative stress, cytokine profiles, and the seminal microbiome. Response variables altered in rodent models, including adiposity, muscle mass, metabolic responses, and reproductive performance, could have major productivity and financial implications for producers if these paternal programming responses are also present in ruminant species. However, a paucity of data exists regarding paternal programming in ruminants. The limited data in the literature mainly point to alterations in the sperm epigenome as a result of sire diet or environment. Global nutrition has been implicated in ruminant models to alter seminal cytokine profiles, which could subsequently alter the uterine environment and immune response to mating. Several reports indicate that embryo development and epigenetic signatures can be influenced by sire plane of nutrition and inclusion of specific feed ingredients into diets (polyunsaturated fatty acids, folic acid, and rumen-protected methionine). Models of sheep nutrition indicate that addition of rumen-protected methionine can affect DNA methylation and offspring performance characteristics extending to the F generation, and that divergent planes of sire nutrition can cause altered hormone profiles and insulin and glucose metabolism in offspring. Almost unlimited opportunities for discovery in this area exist, but researchers are encouraged to target critical questions such as whether and to what extent paternal programming effects are present in common management scenarios, the mechanisms by which paternal programming is inherited in ruminants, and whether the effects of paternal nutrition interact with those of maternal nutrition to influence offspring physiology, whole-animal outcomes, and herd or flock productivity.
最近的证据表明，雄性动物所经历的环境因素可通过射精（精液 + 精子）传递至雌性生殖道，影响受精、胚胎发育及产后子代的结局。这一概念被称为父系编程。在啮齿动物中，已证实雄性动物的营养状况可通过精子表观遗传特征、DNA损伤与氧化应激、细胞因子谱以及精液微生物群直接改变子代的结局。啮齿动物模型中改变的反应变量，包括肥胖、肌肉量、代谢反应和繁殖性能，如果反刍动物物种中也存在这些父系编程反应，可能会对生产者产生重大的生产力和经济影响。然而，关于反刍动物父系编程的数据匮乏。文献中的有限数据主要指向由于雄性动物饮食或环境导致的精子表观基因组改变。在反刍动物模型中，整体营养状况被认为会改变精液细胞因子谱，进而可能改变子宫环境和对交配的免疫反应。几份报告表明，胚胎发育和表观遗传特征可受到雄性动物营养水平以及日粮中特定饲料成分（多不饱和脂肪酸、叶酸和瘤胃保护蛋氨酸）的影响。绵羊营养模型表明，添加瘤胃保护蛋氨酸可影响DNA甲基化和子代性能特征，甚至延伸至F代，且不同的雄性动物营养水平可导致子代激素谱以及胰岛素和葡萄糖代谢发生改变。该领域几乎存在无限的发现机会，但鼓励研究人员针对关键问题展开研究，例如在常见管理场景中是否存在以及在何种程度上存在父系编程效应、反刍动物中父系编程的遗传机制，以及父系营养的影响是否与母系营养的影响相互作用，从而影响子代生理、动物整体结局以及畜群或禽群的生产力。
