Parental Diet Research Articles

Spillover Effects of a Family-Based Childhood Weight-Management Intervention on Parental Nutrient Biomarkers and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors

ABSTRACTBackgroundParental involvement has been shown to favorably affect childhood weight-management interventions, but whether these interventions influence parental diet and cardiometabolic health outcomes is unclear.ObjectivesThe aim was to evaluate whether a 1-y family-based childhood weight-management intervention altered parental nutrient biomarker concentrations and cardiometabolic risk factors (CMRFs).MethodsSecondary analysis from a randomized-controlled, parallel-arm clinical trial (NCT00851201). Families were recruited from a largely Hispanic population and assigned to either standard care (SC; American Academy of Pediatrics overweight/obesity recommendations) or SC + enhanced program (SC+EP; targeted diet/physical activity strategies, skill building, and monthly support sessions). Nutrient biomarkers (plasma carotenoids and fat-soluble vitamins, RBC fatty acid profiles) and CMRFs (BMI, blood pressure, glucose, insulin, lipid profile, inflammatory and endothelial dysfunction markers, adipokines) were measured in archived samples collected from parents of participating children at baseline and end of the 1-y intervention.ResultsParents in both groups (SC = 106 and SC+EP = 99) had significant reductions in trans fatty acid (–14%) and increases in MUFA (2%), PUFA n–6 (ɷ-6) (2%), PUFA n–3 (7%), and β-carotene (20%) concentrations, indicative of lower partially hydrogenated fat and higher vegetable oil, fish, and fruit/vegetable intake, respectively. Significant reductions in high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP; –21%) TNF-α (–19%), IL-6 (–19%), and triglycerides (–6%) were also observed in both groups. An additional significant improvement in serum insulin concentrations (–6%) was observed in the SC+EP parents. However, no major reductions in BMI or blood pressure and significant unfavorable trajectories in LDL-cholesterol and endothelial dysfunction markers [P-selectin, soluble intercellular adhesion molecule (sICAM), thrombomodulin] were observed. Higher carotenoid, MUFA, and PUFA (n–6 and n–3) and lower SFA and trans fatty acid concentrations were associated with improvements in circulating glucose and lipid measures, inflammatory markers, and adipokines.ConclusionsThe benefits of a family-based childhood weight-management intervention can spill over to parents, resulting in apparent healthier dietary shifts that are associated with modest improvements in some CMRFs.

Trans-generational effect of protein restricted diet on adult body and wing size of Drosophila melanogaster.

Protein restriction (PR) has established feasible trade-offs in Drosophila melanogaster to understand lifespan or ageing in a nutritionally challenged environment. However, the phenotypes of body size, weight and wing length respond according to factors such as flies' genotype, environmental exposure and parental diet, and hence their understanding is essential. Here, we demonstrate the effect of long-term PR diet on body size, weight, normal and dry wing length of flies subjected to PR50 and PR70 (50% and 70% protein content present in control food, respectively) for 20 generations from the pre-adult stage. We found that PR-fed flies have lower body weight, relative water content (in males), unaltered (PR50%) and higher (PR70%) relative fat content in males, smaller normal and dry body size when compared with control and generations 1 and 2. Interestingly, the wing size and pupal size of PR flies are smaller and showed significant effects on diet and generation. Thus, these traits are sex and generation dependent along with a diet interaction, which is capable of modulating these results variably. Taken together, the trans-generational effect of PR on fitness and fitness-related traits might be helpful to understand the underpinning mechanisms of evolution and ageing in fruit flies D. melanogaster.

Parental overnutrition by carbohydrates in developmental origins of metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome is a prevalent disease resulting from an interplay of genomic component and the exposome. Parental diet has been shown to affect offspring metabolic health via multiple epigenetic mechanisms. Excess carbohydrate intake is one of the driving forces of the obesity and metabolic syndrome pandemics. This review summarizes the evidence for the effects of maternal carbohydrate (fructose, sucrose, glucose) overnutrition on the modulation of metabolic syndrome components in the offspring. Despite substantial discrepancies in experimental design, common effects of maternal carbohydrate overnutrition include increased body weight and hepatic lipid content of the "programmed" offspring. However, the administration of sucrose to several rat models leads to apparently favorable metabolic outcomes. Moreover, there is evidence for the role of genomic background in modulating the metabolic programming effect in the form of nutri-epigenomic interaction. Comprehensive, robust studies are needed to resolve the temporal, sex-specific, genetic, epigenetic and nutritional aspects of parental overnutrition in the intergenerational and transgenerational pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome.

Parental overnutrition by carbohydrates in developmental origins of metabolic syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is a prevalent disease resulting from an interplay of genomic component and the exposome. Parental diet has been shown to affect offspring metabolic health via multiple epigenetic mechanisms. Excess carbohydrate intake is one of the driving forces of the obesity and metabolic syndrome pandemics. This review summarizes the evidence for the effects of maternal carbohydrate (fructose, sucrose, glucose) overnutrition on the modulation of metabolic syndrome components in the offspring. Despite substantial discrepancies in experimental design, common effects of maternal carbohydrate overnutrition include increased body weight and hepatic lipid content of the "programmed" offspring. However, the administration of sucrose to several rat models leads to apparently favorable metabolic outcomes. Moreover, there is evidence for the role of genomic background in modulating the metabolic programming effect in the form of nutri-epigenomic interaction. Comprehensive, robust studies are needed to resolve the temporal, sex-specific, genetic, epigenetic and nutritional aspects of parental overnutrition in the intergenerational and transgenerational pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome.

Transgenerational effect of host plant on growth and reproduction in two species of moth, Cacoecimorpha pronubana and Epiphyas postvittana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

AbstractThe carnation tortrix moth, Cacoecimorpha pronubana, and the light brown apple moth, Epiphyas postvittana (Walker, 1863) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) are two important polyphagous pest species affecting a wide range of plant species many of which are horticultural crops. Crop damage is caused by the larvae of these two moths rolling leaves together and feeding on the foliage. In order to understand how these two species are affected by a host plant through transgenerational dietary changes, we hypothesised that larval parental pretreatment diet affects growth and reproduction of offspring. We tested the performance of developmental traits of C. pronubana and E. postvittana on three host plant species (larval diet treatment) – Prunus (Rosaceae), Choisya (Rutaceae) and Griselinia (Griseliniaceae). For the experiment, we used larvae from a second generation of C. pronubana and E. postvittana reared either exclusively on Prunus, or reared exclusively on Griselinia (pretreatment). Regardless of whether moths had been reared on Prunus or Griselinia both species of host plant had a significant average effect on the duration of larval development and the pupal size of both species of moth, for E. postvittana, and for C. pronubana. Although, neither pretreatment, nor treatment had a significant overall effect on fecundity (number of eggs per clutch laid) in either species of moth, there was a significant interaction effect observed between the pretreatment and post‐treatment on fecundity for both species of moth. Our results suggest that changes of host plant species composition can affect the performance of offspring of both these polyphagous pest species intergenerationally in complex ways which are relevant to agroecosystems. Such phenomena may be important when developing new strategies for the integrated pest management of these two important pest species.

Parental methyl-enhanced diet and in ovo corticosterone affect first generation Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) development, behaviour and stress response

The role of maternal investment in avian offspring has considerable life history implications on production traits and therefore potential for the poultry industry. A first generation (G1) of Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) were bred from a 2 × 2 factorial design. Parents were fed either a control or methyl-enhanced (HiBET) diet, and their eggs were treated with a vehicle or corticosterone injection during day 5 of incubation. A subset of G1 birds were subjected to an open field trial (OFT) and capture-restraint stress protocol. Significant effects of HiBET diet were found on parental egg and liver weights, G1 hatch, liver and female reproductive tract weights, egg productivity, latency to leave the OFT central zone, male baseline 11-dehydrocorticosterone, and female androstenedione plasma concentrations. In ovo treatment significantly affected latency to return to the OFT, male baseline testosterone and androstenedione, and change in androstenedione plasma concentration. Diet by treatment interactions were significant for G1 liver weight and male baseline plasma concentrations of corticosterone. These novel findings suggest significant positive effects on reproduction, growth, precociousness, and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis function from enhanced methyl diets, and are important in understanding how in ovo stressors (representing maternal stress), affect the first offspring generation.

Parental high-fat high-sugar diet programming and hypothalamus adipose tissue axis in male Wistar rats.

Maternal nutrition during early development and paternal nutrition pre-conception can programme offspring health status. Hypothalamus adipose axis is a target of developmental programming, and paternal and maternal high-fat, high-sugar diet (HFS) may be an important factor that predisposes offspring to develop obesity later in life. This study aims to investigate Wistar rats' maternal and paternal HFS differential contribution on the development, adiposity, and hypothalamic inflammation in male offspring from weaning until adulthood. Male progenitors were fed a control diet (CD) or HFS for 10weeks before mating. After mating, dams were fed CD or HFS only during pregnancy and lactation. Forming the following male offspring groups: CD-maternal and paternal CD; MH-maternal HFS and paternal CD; PH-maternal CD and paternal HFS; PMH-maternal and paternal HFS. After weaning, male offspring were fed CD until adulthood. Maternal HFS diet increased weight, visceral adiposity, and serum total cholesterol levels, and decreased hypothalamic weight in weanling male rats. In adult male offspring, maternal HFS increased weight, glucose levels, and hypothalamic NFκBp65. Paternal HFS diet lowered hypothalamic insulin receptor levels in weanling offspring and glucose and insulin levels in adult offspring. The combined effects of maternal and paternal HFS diets increased triacylglycerol, leptin levels, and hypothalamic inflammation in weanling rats, and increased visceral adiposity in adulthood. Male offspring intake of CD diet after weaning reversed part of the effects of parental HFS diet during the perinatal period. However, maternal and paternal HFS diet affected adiposity and hypothalamic inflammation, which remained until adulthood.

Transgenerational effects of obesogenic diets in rodents: A meta-analysis.

Obesity is a major health condition that affects millions worldwide. There is an increased interest in understanding the adverse outcomes associated with obesogenic diets. A multitude of studies have investigated the transgenerational impacts of maternal and parental obesogenic diets on subsequent generations of offspring, but results have largely been mixed. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis on rodent studies to elucidate how obesogenic diets impact the mean and variance of grand-offspring traits. Our study focused on transgenerational effects (i.e., F2 and F3 generations) in one-off and multigenerational exposure studies. From 33 included articles, we obtained 407 effect sizes representing pairwise comparisons of control and treatment grand-offspring groups pertaining to measures of body weight, adiposity, glucose, insulin, leptin, and triglycerides. We found evidence that male and female grand-offspring descended from grandparents exposed to an obesogenic diet displayed phenotypes consistent with metabolic syndrome, especially in cases where the obesogenic diet was continued across generations. Further, we found stronger evidence for the effects of grand-maternal than grand-paternal exposure on grand-offspring traits. A high-fat diet in one-off exposure studies did not seem to impact phenotypic variation, whereas in multigenerational exposure studies it reduced variation in several traits.

No adverse effect of a maternal high carbohydrate diet on their offspring, in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).

In order to develop a sustainable salmonid aquaculture, it is essential to continue to reduce the use of the protein-rich fishmeal. One promising solution to do so is the use of plant-derived carbohydrates in diet destined to broodstock. However, in mammals, the reduction of protein content (replaced by carbohydrates) in parental diet is known to have strong adverse effects on offspring phenotypes and metabolism. For the first time, the effect of a paternal and a maternal high carbohydrate-low protein diet was assessed on progeny at long term in the rainbow trout. A 30% protein diminution in both males and females broodstock diet during 10 month and 5 months, respectively, did not trigger adverse consequences on their offspring. At the molecular level, offspring transcriptomes were not significantly altered, emphasizing no effect on metabolism. Tenuous differences in the biochemical composition of the liver and the viscera were observed. The recorded effects remained in the normal range of value and accordingly offspring growth were not negatively affected over the long term. Overall, we demonstrated here that a 30% protein diminution during gametogenesis is feasible, confirming the possibility to increase the proportion of plant-derived carbohydrates in female broodstock diets to replace fishmeal proteins.

Parental dietary sucrose affects metabolic and antioxidant enzyme activities in Drosophila

ABSTRACTThe influence of parental nutrition as a key environmental factor that can influence offspring performance has become a hot topic for modern investigations. In the current study using fruit flies, Drosophila melanogaster, we found the sucrose concentration of the diet in the parental generation had a significant influence on the metabolism and antioxidant defense of the next generation, even when that subsequent generation had been shifted to a standard diet. We found that low concentrations of dietary carbohydrate in the parental generation led to higher activities of lactate dehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase (MDH) and alanine transaminase (ALT) enzymes and increased urea content in their progeny. Moreover, higher activities of the first‐ and second‐line antioxidant defense enzymes were detected in F1 males generated from parents fed a low‐carbohydrate diet. Low sucrose concentration in the parental diet resulted in increased levels of protein thiols but decreased the low‐molecular‐weight thiol group content in F1 males. The influence of different dietary sucrose concentrations also resulted in sex‐dependent differences, where MDH, ALT, glutathione‐S‐transferase, glucose‐6‐phosphate dehydrogenase and isocitrate dehydrogenase activities and levels of thiol groups were unaffected in F1 females. The results highlight the transgenerational influence that specific dietary macronutrients provided in the parental diet, namely carbohydrates, can have on the next generation, influencing enzyme activities, metabolic pathways and antioxidant defenses in progeny Drosophila.

Transgenerational Effects of Parental Diet on Offspring Development and Disease Resistance in Flies

The environmental conditions experienced by parents influence next generations, with the parental nutritional status playing an important role in shaping offspring phenotypes. Our understanding of transgenerational effects of parental diet on offspring pathogen resistance is, however, poorly documented. We manipulated the quality of parental diet (i.e., mother, father, or both) and measured effects on offspring development and survival after an immune challenge by septic infection. We used Bactrocera tryoni as host model infected with the pathogenic bacterium, Serratia marcescens. Our results showed no significant effect of maternal, or paternal, diet on offspring resistance. Interestingly, when the diet of both parents was manipulated, sons from parents fed either carbohydrate- or protein-biased diets had higher survival upon pathogen infection than sons from parents fed balanced diets. The quality of the parental diet had no effect on offspring developmental traits with the exception of egg hatching percentage which decreased when mothers were fed a protein-biased diet. Our results emphasised the complexity of nutritional transgenerational effects on offspring pathogen resistance and development.

Diet and Gender Influence Survival in Sickle Cell Disease

Increased childhood mortality and reduced longevity persist in the resource-limited settings with the highest populations of sickle cell disease (SCD) (Piel et al., New Engl J Med 2017). A high catabolic rate caused by multiple phenomena including compensatory erythropoiesis suggest increased calorie and nutritional requirements for individuals with SCD; however, a vast majority of individuals with SCD live under malnourished conditions. Also, it is unknown if the survival of offspring is influenced by the parents' diet and if the diet of individuals has a gender-specific effect on their survival.To address this critical unmet need for information under controlled conditions, we performed a randomized double-blind trial on transgenic Berkley mice with SCD comparing an enriched 'sickle diet' (SD) with a standard 'rodent diet' (RD). The study was performed following protocols approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. Breeder pairs comprised of hemizygous (HbAS) females crossbred with homozygous (HbSS) male mice were divided into two dietary groups: [i] SD (59M3, TestDiet; St. Louis, MO) and [ii] RD (9F, 5020, Harlan Laboratories; Madison, WI). SD contained 26.4% protein, 11.1% fat, 27.5% kcal from protein, and 26% kcal from fat. RD contained 18.6% protein, 6.2% fat, 24% kcal from protein, and 18% kcal from fat. SD had a higher mineral, vitamin, amino acid, and omega-3 fatty acid content than RD. Pups were weaned 3 weeks after birth and were then genotyped and phenotyped to select HbSS pups. Pups were then fed SD for 10 days and randomly assigned to either [i] SD or [ii] RD for the remainder of the study. Their survival was followed until the pups were 150 days of age. Analysis was performed on the relationship between rates of survival and the following factors of interest: pup gender, pup diet, and parental diet. The outcome variable of interest, survival in days, was examined using (1) Kaplan-Meier plots of estimated survival and (2) Cox regression to obtain hazard ratios (HR). For Cox regression, the significance of individual factors adjusted for multivariate data and the significance of overall differences were based on Wald tests and log-rank tests respectively. Data were analyzed using the package 'survival' in ' R 3.4.0 ' (R Foundation for Statistical Computing; Vienna, Austria). P <.05 was considered significant.Of the 601 pups, 482 were on SD and 119 were on RD. After 150 days, the overall survival percentages of pups on SD and RD were 77% and 51% respectively. Pups fed SD had significantly prolonged survival rates compared to pups on RD when adjusted for multivariate data (p = 6.03*10-8, HR: .3988, 95% confidence interval (CI): .2860 - .5561). Cumulatively, there were 338 female pups and 263 male pups. After 150 days, the overall survival percentages of female and male pups were 76% and 68% respectively. Gender significantly independently impacted survival with females showing greater survival than males when adjusted for multivariate data (p = .0125, HR: 1.4797, 95% CI: 1.0879 - 2.0126). After 150 days, the overall survival percentages of the 488 pups with parents on SD and the 113 pups with parents on RD were 73% and 68% respectively. Pups born to parents fed SD showed a trend towards increased survival; however, parental diet did not have a statistically significant impact on the survival of pups adjusted for multivariate data (p = .5392, HR: .8878, 95% CI: .6071 - 1.2982). Notably, male pups on RD born to parents on RD showed the poorest survival compared to all other groups, and male pups on SD born to parents on RD showed a significantly improved survival in comparison (p=0.0228), suggesting that improving the individual's diet can overcome the effect of the parents' diet.A diet rich in protein, fat, and micronutrients significantly prolonged the survival of HbSS mice overall. HbSS females survived significantly longer than HbSS males. HbSS mice born to parents fed SD showed a trend towards increased survival; however, parental diet did not have a statistically significant impact on the survival of female pups. Overall, the data emphasized the importance of parents' diet, individual's diet, and gender in SCD. We speculate that an improvement of diet may reduce manifestations of SCD including pain, infections, inflammation, and organ damage and result in increased survival. These data also suggest the consideration of gender and diet in studies using mice with SCD to improve translational outcomes. DisclosuresGupta:Fera Pharmaceuticals LLC: Consultancy, Honoraria; Tautona Group: Consultancy, Honoraria.

Modulation of Energy Metabolism and Epigenetic Landscape in Rainbow Trout Fry by a Parental Low Protein/High Carbohydrate Diet.

Simple SummaryWhile the effects of parental diets on their progeny have been highly described in mammals, such studies are lacking in fish. To explore such a question in a high trophic level teleost fish, two-year old male and female rainbow trout were fed either a control diet (0% carbohydrate and 63.89% protein) or a high-carbohydrate diet (35% carbohydrate and 42.96% protein), for a complete reproductive cycle for females and for a period of 5 months for males. Neither the maternal nor the paternal high-carbohydrate diet alone had induced significant effects on their progeny. Nevertheless, when both parents were fed the high-carbohydrate diet, the energy metabolism and mitochondrial dynamics of their progeny were altered. Moreover, the epigenetic landscape was also highly affected. Even though, offspring growth was only slightly affected at the early stage of life; the effect of parental high-carbohydrate diet should be explored over the long term.It is now recognized that parental diets could highly affect offspring metabolism and growth. Studies in fish are, however, lacking. In particular, the effect of a parental diet high in carbohydrate (HC) and low in protein (LP) on progeny has never been examined in higher trophic level teleost fish. Thus, two-year old male and female rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were fed either a control diet (0% carbohydrate and 63.89% protein) or a diet containing 35% carbohydrate and 42.96% protein (HC/LP) for a complete reproductive cycle for females and over a 5-month period for males. Cross-fertilizations were then carried out. To evaluate the effect of the parental diet on their offspring, different phenotypic and metabolic traits were recorded for offspring before their first feeding and again three weeks later. When considering the paternal and maternal HC/LP nutrition independently, fry phenotypes and transcriptomes were only slightly affected. The combination of the maternal and paternal HC/LP diets altered the energy metabolism and mitochondrial dynamics of their progeny, demonstrating the existence of a synergistic effect. The global DNA methylation of whole fry was also highly affected by the HC/LP parental diet, indicating that it could be one of the fundamental mechanisms responsible for the effects of nutritional programming.

Different dietary combinations of folic acid and vitamin B12 in parental diet results in epigenetic reprogramming of IGF2R and KCNQ1OT1 in placenta and fetal tissues in mice.

Genomic imprinting is important for mammalian development and its dysregulation can cause various developmental defects and diseases. The study evaluated the effects of different dietary combinations of folic acid and B12 on epigenetic regulation of IGF2R and KCNQ1OT1 ncRNA in C57BL/6 mice model. Female mice were fed diets with nine combinations of folic acid and B12 for 4 weeks. They were mated and off-springs born (F1) were continued on the same diet for 6 weeks postweaning and were allowed to mate. The placenta and fetal (F2) tissues were collected at day 20 of gestation. Dietary deficiency of folate (BNFD and BOFD) and B12 (BDFN) with either state of other vitamin or combined deficiency of both vitamins (BDFD) in comparison to BNFN, were overall responsible for reduced expression of IGF2R in the placenta (F1) and the fetal liver (F2) whereas a combination of folate deficiency with different levels of B12 revealed sex-specific differences in kidney and brain. The alterations in the expression of IGF2R caused by folate-deficient conditions (BNFD and BOFD) and both deficient condition (BDFD) was found to be associated with an increase in suppressive histone modifications. Over-supplementation of either folate or B12 or both vitamins in comparison to BNFN, led to increase in expression of IGF2R and KCNQ1OT1 in the placenta and fetal tissues. The increase in the expression of IGF2R caused by folate over-supplementation (BNFO) was associated with decreased DNA methylation in fetal tissues. KCNQ1OT1 noncoding RNA (ncRNA), however, showed upregulation under deficient conditions of folate and B12 only in female fetal tissues which correlated well with hypomethylation observed under these conditions. An epigenetic reprograming of IGF2R and KCNQ1OT1 ncRNA in the offspring was evident upon different dietary combinations of folic acid and B12 in the mice.

Household food spending, parental and childhood's diet quality, in financial crisis: a cross-sectional study in Greece.

Over the past decade, the financial crisis has affected harshly the household income of Greek people. This study aimed to investigate whether the effect of the financial crisis on food spending has affected the dietary habits in the family environment. Under a cross-sectional study conducted during 2014-2016, 1145 children and their parents completed questionnaires examining socio-economic and dietary characteristics. The MedDietScore and the KIDMED Score were used to assess parental and childhood adherence to the Mediterranean diet, respectively. The parents who reported that the financial crisis has affected food spending used to consume weekly fewer fruits (3.26 ± 0.94 vs. 3.41 ± 0.90, P = 0.016), carbohydrate foods (3.16 ± 0.57 vs. 2.99 ± 0.55, P < 0.001) and legumes (3.28 ± 0.76 vs. 3.14 ± 0.67, P = 0.001) and more nutrient-poor/energy-dense foods (2.55 ± 0.98 vs. 2.20 ± 0.82, P < 0.001) compared with non-affected parents. Their children showed a decreased weekly consumption of vegetables (2.82 ± 0.90 vs. 2.97 ± 0.98, P = 0.019) and increased weekly consumption of nutrient-poor/energy-dense foods (2.38 ± 0.97 vs. 2.19 ± 0.80, P < 0.001). The affected parents had a lower MedDietScore than non-affected parents (25.76 ± 8.10 vs. 27.03 ± 8.11, P = 0.034). No difference was revealed on the KIDMED Score (P = 0.294). The constrained food spending due to financial crisis has an independent and inverse impact on parent's diet quality while keeping unaffected preadolescent's diet quality. This finding highlights the role of parents as a protective 'wall' against the deterioration of their children's diet quality. The modification on the prices of healthy food and the provision of food aid particularly in economically disadvantaged households is underlined.

Paternal and maternal effects in a mosquito: A bridge for life history transition

Parental (transgenerational) effects occur when the conditions experienced by a mother or father contribute to offspring phenotype. Here we show that parental larval diet in mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti, results in differential allocation of resources in offspring of parents depending on the nutritional condition (quality) of their mate. Maternal effects influenced the number of eggs produced by females as well as their lipid investment. Low nutrient females mated with high nutrient males laid eggs with significantly higher lipid content than those laid by high nutrient females. Paternal effects showed that when high nutrient males mated with low nutrient females, resulting eggs had higher lipid content than when low nutrient males mated with low nutrient females. Overall, our results are consistent with a pattern predicted by the differential allocation of resources hypothesis, when females experience nutritional deprivation, which asserts that mate quality directly influences reproductive allocation.

Altered gut microbiome and autism like behavior are associated with parental high salt diet in male mice

Neurodevelopmental disorders are conditions caused by the abnormal development of the central nervous system. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is currently the most common form of such disorders, affecting 1% of the population worldwide. Despite its prevalence, the mechanisms underlying ASD are not fully known. Recent studies have suggested that the maternal gut microbiome can have profound effects on neurodevelopment. Considering that the gut microbial composition is modulated by diet, we tested the hypothesis that ASD-like behavior could be linked to maternal diet and its associated gut dysbiosis. Therefore, we used a mouse model of parental high salt diet (HSD), and specifically evaluated social and exploratory behaviors in their control-fed offspring. Using 16S genome sequencing of fecal samples, we first show that (1) as expected, HSD changed the maternal gut microbiome, and (2) this altered gut microbiome was shared with the offspring. More importantly, behavioral analysis of the offspring showed hyperactivity, increased repetitive behaviors, and impaired sociability in adult male mice from HSD-fed parents. Taken together, our data suggests that parental HSD consumption is strongly associated with offspring ASD-like behavioral abnormalities via changes in gut microbiome.

Reproductive performance of rabbits fed groundnut (Arachis hypogea) haulms

The 20 parent rabbits used in this study were randomly assigned to 4 treatments (diets 2-5) plus a control diet (Dietl) while the 20 FI does were maintained on the parental diet. The number of matings per conception were higher in the parent does than the FI does. Generally the Fl does performed better than the parent does in most of the parameters considered. The lowest value of 50.0 and 50.0 obtained in FI does were higher than the lowest value of 33.33 and 25.0 obtained in purent does for conception rate (%) and reproductive efficiency (%) respectively. Although, one cases of abortion and two cases of stillbirth were recorded in parent does, none was observed in FI does. The litter size of FI does which ranged between 4.0-5.5 was lower than the parent does which ranged between 40-6.5 It could however be inferred that the overall superior performance of the FI does may not be unconnected with the inclusion of groundnut haulms in their diet from the start after weaning.

Parental dietary arachidonic acid altered serum fatty acid profile, hepatic antioxidant capacity, and lipid metabolism in domestic pigeons (Columba livia).

The aim of this study was to explore the effects of dietary arachidonic acid on serum fatty acid profile, hepatic antioxidant capacity, and lipid metabolism in pigeon squabs by supplementing arachidonic acid in their parental diets. A completely randomized design was conducted consisting of control group, 0.05% dietary arachidonic acid supplementation group, 0.1% dietary arachidonic acid supplementation group, and 0.2% dietary arachidonic acid supplementation group. Six randomly selected squabs from each group were sampled on Day 21 post-hatch. Results indicated that moderate level (0.05%) of arachidonic acid in parental diets for pigeon squabs improved lipid metabolism via regulation on serum lipid profile and fatty acid composition and tended to reduce hepatic lipid accumulation in the premise of negligible damage to antioxidant status. Unfortunately, excessive parental supplementation of dietary arachidonic acid might be harmful to squab health. The regulatory effects of arachidonic acid were sensitive to the arachidonic acid doses. In conclusion, parental dietary arachidonic acid at 0.05% could be beneficial for squabs to maintain health as reflective aspects in ameliorative serum lipid profile, fatty acid composition, and reduced hepatic lipid accumulation.

Paternal Nutritional Programming of Lipid Metabolism is Propagated Through Sperm and Seminal Plasma

The paternal diet affects lipid metabolism in offspring for at least two generations through nutritional programming. However, we do not know how this is propagated. We tested the hypothesis that the changes in lipid metabolism that are driven by paternal diet are propagated through spermatozoa and not seminal plasma. We applied an updated, purpose-built computational tool to analyse lipid metabolism systemically (Lipid Traffic Analysis v2.3). The analysis showed that the two possible routes for programming effects, the sperm (genes) and seminal plasma (influence on the uterine environment), both have a distinct effect on the offspring’s lipid metabolism. Further, the programming effects in offspring suggest that changes in lipid distribution are more important than alterations in lipid biosynthesis. These results highlight how the uterine environment and epigenetic effects both shape lipid metabolism in offspring, enhancing our understanding of the link between parental diet and metabolism in offspring.