A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal

Parental transgenerational epigenetic inheritance related to dietary crude oil exposure in Danio rerio




Authors Bautista, Naim M.; Crespel, Amélie; Crossley, Janna; Padilla, Pamela; Burggren, Warren

PublisherCOMPANY BIOLOGISTS LTD

Publication year2020

Journal: Journal of Experimental Biology

Journal name in sourceJOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY

Journal acronymJ EXP BIOL

Article number jeb222224

Volume223

Number of pages15

ISSN0022-0949

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.222224

Web address https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/223/16/jeb222224/223608/Parental-transgenerational-epigenetic-inheritance


Abstract
Transgenerational inheritance from both parental lines can occur by genetic and epigenetic inheritance. Maternal effects substantially influence offspring survival and fitness. However, investigation of the paternal contribution to offspring success has been somewhat neglected. In the present study, adult zebrafish were separated into female and male groups exposed for 21 days to either a control diet or to a diet containing water accommodated fractions of crude oil. Four F-1 offspring groups were obtained: (1) control (non-exposed parents), (2) paternally exposed, (3) maternally exposed and (4) dual-parent-exposed. To determine the maternal and paternal influence on their offspring, we evaluated responses from molecular to whole organismal levels in both generations. Growth rate, hypoxia resistance and heart rate did not differ among parental groups. However, global DNA methylation in heart tissue was decreased in oil-exposed fish compared with control parents. This decrease was accompanied by an upregulation of glycine N-methyltransferase. Unexpectedly, maternal, paternal and dual exposure all enhanced survival of F-1 offspring raised in oiled conditions. Regardless of parental exposure, however, F-1 offspring exposed to oil exhibited bradycardia. Compared with offspring from control parents, global DNA methylation was decreased in the three offspring groups derived from oil-exposed parents. However, no difference between groups was observed in gene regulation involved in methylation transfer, suggesting that the changes observed in the F-1 populations may have been inherited from both parental lines. Phenotypic responses during exposure to persistent environmental stressors in F-1 offspring appear to be influenced by maternal and paternal exposure, potentially benefitting offspring populations to survive in challenging environments.



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