Beyond fertilisation: How the paternal environment influences future generations
Janice L Bailey1, Mathieu Dalvai1, Maryse Lessard1
1Centre de Recherche en Reproduction, Développement et Santé Intergénérationnelle, Faculté des Sciences de l'Agriculture et de l'Alimentation, Université Laval, Québec G1V 0A6, Canada.
Abstract:
In light of the relatively ignored role of paternal influences on offspring development and increasing societal concerns regarding possible health consequences of chemical exposures, our team has addressed the overall hypothesis that environmentally-relevant levels of contaminants have long-lasting effects that are transmitted through the paternal lineage. This review focuses on our research examining the impact of developmental exposure to toxicants and nutrients on the phenotype and epigenome of the male and of his subsequent generations. This report is intended to encourage animal andrologists as well as the domestic animal production industry to increase their consideration of the sire's environment in the context of agricultural productivity.
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