Intergenerational effect of short-term spaceflight in mice

As space travel becomes more accessible, it is important to understand the effects of spaceflight including microgravity, cosmic radiation, and psychological stress. However, the effect on offspring has not been well studied in mammals. Here we investigated the effect of 35 days spaceflight on male germ cells. Male mice that had experienced spaceflight exhibit alterations in binding of transcription factor ATF7, a regulator of heterochromatin formation, on promoter regions in testis, as well as altered small RNA expression in spermatozoa. Offspring of space-traveling males exhibit elevated hepatic expression of genes related to DNA replication. These results indicate that spaceflight has intergenerational effect.