Strange but seems to be true - Recent studies show that this is quite possible.
A recent study conducted by Helmholtz Munich and the German Center for Diabetes Research provides new insights into how fathers' diets and overweight can affect their children's health even before conception. The findings of the study can help develop preventive health measures for men wishing to become fathers: The healthier the father's diet, the lower the risk for their children to develop obesity or diseases such as diabetes later in life.
Dr. Raffaele Teperino, head of the "Environmental Epigenetics" research group at Helmholtz Munich, along with his research team, has examined the impact of paternal diet on children's health – specifically, the influence of diet before conception.
To verify the results of their analysis, the research team subsequently conducted experiments with mice. These mice were fed a high-fat diet, meaning food with a higher fat content than a normal diet. This had effects on the reproductive organs of the animals, including the epididymis. The epididymis is the area in the male reproductive system where freshly formed sperm mature. "Our study shows that sperm exposed to a high-fat diet in the mouse epididymis led to offspring with an increased tendency to metabolic diseases," says Raffaele Teperino.
To deepen the findings, the research team conducted additional studies in the laboratory. They created embryos through in-vitro fertilization (fertilization "in a test tube"). When Teperino's team used sperm from mice that had been exposed to a high-fat diet, they found mt-tsRNAs from these sperm in early embryos, significantly influencing gene expression. This, in turn, affects the development and health of the offspring.
PS: I had writtent about mt-DNA in several threads before. Please refer to the last one - link shown at the end of this post.
Mitochondria are often referred to as the powerhouses of the cell. They have their own DNA, independent of the DNA in the cell nucleus. This mitochondrial DNA (mt-DNA) produces proteins in the mitochondria via the intermediate mt-RNA and is typically inherited from mothers to offspring.
The mitochondrial genome is circular, whereas the nuclear genome is linear. The mitochondrial genome is built of 16,569 DNA base pairs, whereas the nuclear genome is made of 3.3 billion DNA base pairs. The mitochondrial genome contains 37 genes that encode 13 proteins, 22 tRNAs, and 2 rRNAs.
Previously, it was assumed that fathers had no part in the genetic makeup of their offspring's mitochondria. However, recent studies like this one now show that sperm carry fragments of mt-RNA ("mt-tsRNA") into the egg during fertilization. The mt-tsRNAs play a role in epigenetics, regulating gene expression in the early embryo: they can indirectly influence the development and health of the offspring by modifying the activity of certain genes in the mitochondria. Thus, fathers have an important, albeit indirect, influence on the genetic imprinting of mitochondria and thereby on the energy metabolism of their children.
Link to a previous post - https://elakiri.com/threads/why-mtdna-mitochondrial-dna-is-maternally-inherited.2123203/
A recent study conducted by Helmholtz Munich and the German Center for Diabetes Research provides new insights into how fathers' diets and overweight can affect their children's health even before conception. The findings of the study can help develop preventive health measures for men wishing to become fathers: The healthier the father's diet, the lower the risk for their children to develop obesity or diseases such as diabetes later in life.
Dr. Raffaele Teperino, head of the "Environmental Epigenetics" research group at Helmholtz Munich, along with his research team, has examined the impact of paternal diet on children's health – specifically, the influence of diet before conception.
To verify the results of their analysis, the research team subsequently conducted experiments with mice. These mice were fed a high-fat diet, meaning food with a higher fat content than a normal diet. This had effects on the reproductive organs of the animals, including the epididymis. The epididymis is the area in the male reproductive system where freshly formed sperm mature. "Our study shows that sperm exposed to a high-fat diet in the mouse epididymis led to offspring with an increased tendency to metabolic diseases," says Raffaele Teperino.
To deepen the findings, the research team conducted additional studies in the laboratory. They created embryos through in-vitro fertilization (fertilization "in a test tube"). When Teperino's team used sperm from mice that had been exposed to a high-fat diet, they found mt-tsRNAs from these sperm in early embryos, significantly influencing gene expression. This, in turn, affects the development and health of the offspring.
PS: I had writtent about mt-DNA in several threads before. Please refer to the last one - link shown at the end of this post.
Mitochondria are often referred to as the powerhouses of the cell. They have their own DNA, independent of the DNA in the cell nucleus. This mitochondrial DNA (mt-DNA) produces proteins in the mitochondria via the intermediate mt-RNA and is typically inherited from mothers to offspring.
The mitochondrial genome is circular, whereas the nuclear genome is linear. The mitochondrial genome is built of 16,569 DNA base pairs, whereas the nuclear genome is made of 3.3 billion DNA base pairs. The mitochondrial genome contains 37 genes that encode 13 proteins, 22 tRNAs, and 2 rRNAs.
Previously, it was assumed that fathers had no part in the genetic makeup of their offspring's mitochondria. However, recent studies like this one now show that sperm carry fragments of mt-RNA ("mt-tsRNA") into the egg during fertilization. The mt-tsRNAs play a role in epigenetics, regulating gene expression in the early embryo: they can indirectly influence the development and health of the offspring by modifying the activity of certain genes in the mitochondria. Thus, fathers have an important, albeit indirect, influence on the genetic imprinting of mitochondria and thereby on the energy metabolism of their children.
Link to a previous post - https://elakiri.com/threads/why-mtdna-mitochondrial-dna-is-maternally-inherited.2123203/