The inheritance of traits from parent to offspring is a universal characteristic of life on earth, and has fundamental consequences for its inner workings, and for evolution. Recent results in the field of epigenetics have resurrected the once-discredited possibility that the environment of parents could have an effect on the phenotype of their offspring. Inheritance of acquired characters (ie passage of environmental information from one generation to the next) is often called Lamarckian inheritance, and demonstration of its existence would drastically alter how we think about evolution, and how human epidemiological studies are carried out. I have used a microarray approach to identify transgenerational effects of the paternal environment on offspring phenotype in mice, linking paternal low protein diet to cholesterol metabolism in offspring. In this project I propose to systematically characterize the mechanism by which environmentally-directed traits are inherited in mice. Based on preliminary data, it appears that low protein diet specifically alters the levels of specific small RNA fragments in sperm, and that after fertilization these RNA fragments can alter gene expression programs in the early embryo. Here, I propose a combination of genetic, epigenetic, cell biology, and developmental biology studies to investigate the mechanistic basis for generation of these RNAs in response to diet, and to determine the functional consequences of these RNAs for the next generation. These studies will have a revolutionary impact on fields ranging from reproductive biology to evolution to epidemiology.

Public Health Relevance

Epigenetic inheritance, the inheritance of information beyond DNA sequence, has been proposed to carry information about the environment between generations. We have discovered in mice that the paternal diet can have a profound influence on offspring's metabolic state. In this grant we propose to thoroughly investigate the m

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
Type
NIH Director’s Pioneer Award (NDPA) (DP1)
Project #
5DP1ES025458-02
Application #
8928182
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-BCMB-N (50))
Program Officer
Chadwick, Lisa
Project Start
2014-09-16
Project End
2019-07-31
Budget Start
2015-08-01
Budget End
2016-07-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2015
Total Cost
$837,500
Indirect Cost
$337,500
Name
University of Massachusetts Medical School Worcester
Department
Biochemistry
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
603847393
City
Worcester
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
01655
Chikara, Shireen; Mamidi, Sujan; Sreedasyam, Avinash et al. (2018) Flaxseed Consumption Inhibits Chemically Induced Lung Tumorigenesis and Modulates Expression of Phase II Enzymes and Inflammatory Cytokines in A/J Mice. Cancer Prev Res (Phila) 11:27-37
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