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Genomic Imprinting and Inheritance02:30

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Diploid organisms inherit genetic material through chromosomes from both parents. Copies of the same gene are known as alleles. In most cases, both alleles are simultaneously expressed and allow various cellular processes to function optimally. If one of the alleles is missing or mutated, the expression of the other allele can compensate; however, this is not true for all genes.
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The concept of a cell started with microscopic observations of dead cork tissue by Robert Hooke in 1665. Hooke coined the term "cell" based on the resemblance of the small subdivisions in the cork to the rooms that monks inhabited, called cells. About ten years later, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek became the first person to observe the living and moving cells under a microscope. In the century that followed, the theory that cells represented the basic unit of life developed.
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Bacterial and archaeal cells exhibit remarkable diversity in shape and structure, critical in their adaptability and functionality. Among bacteria, the most commonly observed shapes include cocci and bacilli. Cocci are spherical and may exist singly or in groupings such as pairs (diplococci), chains (streptococci), clusters (staphylococci), or tetrads. Bacilli, in contrast, are rod-shaped and can also occur as single cells, in pairs, or chains, depending on their environmental and genetic...
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Although the genetic makeup of an organism plays a major role in determining the phenotype, there are also several environmental factors, such as temperature, oxygen availability, presence of mutagens, that can alter an organism’s phenotype.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 22, 2026

Stable Isotope In-Vivo Labeling for Mass-Spectrometry Identification of Paternal Metabolites Transferred from Sperm to Oocyte During Fertilization
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Fat eggs shape offspring health.

Erica D Watson1, Joanna Rakoczy1

  • 1Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.

Nature Genetics
|April 28, 2016
PubMed
Summary

Maternal high-fat diet can cause offspring metabolic disorders. Epigenetic inheritance via the oocyte, not the in utero environment, is the likely cause, according to a new mouse study.

Area of Science:

  • Reproductive biology
  • Metabolic health
  • Epigenetics

Background:

  • Maternal diet significantly impacts offspring metabolic health.
  • Distinguishing between in utero environment and oocyte epigenetic factors is challenging.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the specific mechanisms by which maternal diet influences offspring metabolic disease susceptibility.
  • To differentiate the roles of the uterine environment and oocyte epigenetics.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a mouse model with a high-fat diet.
  • Employed in vitro fertilization (IVF) to separate maternal diet effects from oocyte contributions.
  • Analyzed offspring for metabolic disorder markers.

Main Results:

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  • Offspring of mothers on a high-fat diet exhibited increased susceptibility to metabolic disorders.
  • IVF results indicated that the oocyte epigenetics, not the uterine environment, were primarily responsible for this susceptibility.
  • This suggests a mechanism of epigenetic inheritance.

Conclusions:

  • Epigenetic factors inherited through the oocyte play a crucial role in mediating the effects of maternal high-fat diet on offspring metabolic health.
  • Understanding oocyte-mediated epigenetic inheritance is vital for preventing metabolic disorders in offspring.
  • This study provides a novel approach to dissecting environmental influences on metabolic health.