Abstract
Besides genetic information, sperm cells also deliver epigenetic information from the father to the embryo. These two kinds of paternal information are essential determinants for embryonic development and health of the offspring. Epigenetic information may reflect environmental and lifestyle circumstances that each individual experiences during his lifetime. Exogenous alterations of epigenetic information occur mainly during certain time windows during sperm development when the male epigenome is particularly susceptible. Opportunities exist during early phases of life in utero, during puberty, and in the adult, so that epigenetic marks reflect phenotypic adaptations over a lifetime. The marks can be transmitted to future generations in the form of epigenetic information in sperm. This chapter reviews carriers of mammalian sperm epigenetic information, such as nuclear architecture, DNA methylation, the histone code, and small noncoding RNAs, and briefly discusses how they are subject to change by environmental influence.
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