Potential of the application of epigenetics in animal production

2015 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takafumi Gotoh
Keyword(s):  
Adult Life ◽  
Animal Production ◽  
Production Potential ◽  
Offspring Performance ◽  
Innovative Strategy ◽  
Endocrine Status ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
Biological Concepts ◽  
Abnormal Weather ◽  
Neonatal Programming

Our many current environmental challenges, including worldwide abnormal weather, global warming, and pollution, necessitate a new and innovative strategy for animal production for the next generation. This strategy should incorporate not only higher-efficiency production, but also advanced biological concepts and multi-functional agricultural techniques, into environmentally friendly systems. Recent research has discovered a unique phenomenon referred to as ‘foetal and neonatal programming’, which is based on ‘the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD)’ concept. These studies have shown that alterations in foetal and early postnatal nutrition and endocrine status may result in developmental adaptations that permanently change the structure, physiology and metabolism of affected animals during adult life. Ruminants fill an important ecological niche that capitalises on the symbiotic relationship between fibre-fermenting ruminal microbes and the mammalian demand for usable nutrients. The timing of the perturbation in maternal nutrient availability plays an important role in determining the effect that the foetal and neonatal programming will have on the developing placenta or foetus and offspring performance. Developmental programming through nutritional manipulations may help the ruminant, as an effective grass–protein converter, fulfil its production potential.

scholarly journals Consequences of Paternal Nutrition on Offspring Health and Disease

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 2818
Author(s):  
Pauline Dimofski ◽  
David Meyre ◽  
Natacha Dreumont ◽  
Brigitte Leininger-Muller
Keyword(s):  
Metabolic Pathways ◽  
Maternal Diet ◽  
Disease Onset ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Intermittent Fasting ◽  
Low Protein ◽  
Periconceptional Period ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
Offspring Health ◽  
The Impact

It is well established that the maternal diet during the periconceptional period affects the progeny’s health. A growing body of evidence suggests that the paternal diet also influences disease onset in offspring. For many years, sperm was considered only to contribute half of the progeny’s genome. It now appears that it also plays a crucial role in health and disease in offspring’s adult life. The nutritional status and environmental exposure of fathers during their childhood and/or the periconceptional period have significant transgenerational consequences. This review aims to describe the effects of various human and rodent paternal feeding patterns on progeny’s metabolism and health, including fasting or intermittent fasting, low-protein and folic acid deficient food, and overnutrition in high-fat and high-sugar diets. The impact on pregnancy outcome, metabolic pathways, and chronic disease onset will be described. The biological and epigenetic mechanisms underlying the transmission from fathers to their progeny will be discussed. All these data provide evidence of the impact of paternal nutrition on progeny health which could lead to preventive diet recommendations for future fathers.

Developmental origins of health and disease

2018 ◽  
pp. 36-39
Author(s):  
Caroline Fall ◽  
Kalyanaraman Kumaran
Keyword(s):  
Early Life ◽  
Infant Development ◽  
Animal Experiments ◽  
Environmental Pollutants ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Maternal Diabetes ◽  
Observational Research ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
And Function

Sub-optimal nutrition during foetal and infant development is associated with an increased risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in adult life. Animal experiments show that this results from permanent effects on the structure and function of tissues and hormone systems (‘metabolic programming’), probably mediated by epigenetic changes. NCD risk is increased further by adiposity and/or unhealthy lifestyles in childhood or adulthood. Apart from nutrition, other early life environmental influences can programme later disease, including foetal ‘over-nutrition’ (maternal diabetes or obesity) and exposure to maternal smoking, environmental pollutants, and pregnancy complications. The concept that improving the nutrition and health of mothers pre-conceptionally and during pregnancy could prevent common NCDs has huge public health implications. However, unlike the robust demonstration of programming in experimental animals, the evidence in humans rests mainly on observational research. Intervention studies are ongoing to strengthen the evidence and to identify ways to improve early development and prevent NCDs.

Rodent models of metabolic disorders: considerations for use in studies of neonatal programming

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-80
Author(s):  
Kasimu Ghandi Ibrahim ◽  
Dawoud Usman ◽  
Muhammad Bashir Bello ◽  
Ibrahim Malami ◽  
Bilyaminu Abubakar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Critical Period ◽  
Metabolic Disorders ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Postnatal Life ◽  
Rodent Models ◽  
Metabolic Phenotypes ◽  
Prevention And Treatment ◽  
Early Postnatal Life ◽  
Neonatal Programming

Abstract Epidemiologically, metabolic disorders have garnered much attention, perhaps due to the predominance of obesity. The early postnatal life represents a critical period for programming multifactorial metabolic disorders of adult life. Though, altricial rodents are prime subjects for investigating neonatal programming, there is still no sufficiently generalised literature on their usage and methodology. This review focuses on establishing five approach-based models of neonatal rodents adopted for studying metabolic phenotypes. Here, some modelled interventions that currently exist to avoid or prevent metabolic disorders are also highlighted. We also bring forth recommendations, guidelines, and considerations to aid research on neonatal programming. It is hoped that this provides a background to researchers focused on the aetiology, mechanisms, prevention and treatment of metabolic disorders.

scholarly journals Assessment of cardiometabolic risk in children in population studies: underpinning developmental origins of health and disease mother–offspring cohort studies

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.-C. Huang ◽  
Susan L. Prescott ◽  
Keith M. Godfrey ◽  
Elizabeth A. Davis
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Studies ◽  
Cardiometabolic Risk ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Present Review ◽  
Childhood And Adolescence ◽  
Developmental Origins ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
The Metabolic Syndrome ◽  
Cardiometabolic Disorders ◽  
Health And Disease

AbstractPregnancy and birth cohorts have been utilised extensively to investigate the developmental origins of health and disease, particularly in relation to understanding the aetiology of obesity and related cardiometabolic disorders. Birth and pregnancy cohorts have been utilised extensively to investigate this area of research. The aim of the present review was twofold: first to outline the necessity of measuring cardiometabolic risk in children; and second to outline how it can be assessed. The major outcomes thought to have an important developmental component are CVD, insulin resistance and related metabolic outcomes. Conditions such as the metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and CHD all tend to have peak prevalence in middle-aged and older individuals but assessments of cardiometabolic risk in childhood and adolescence are important to define early causal factors and characterise preventive measures. Typically, researchers investigating prospective cohort studies have relied on the thesis that cardiovascular risk factors, such as dyslipidaemia, hypertension and obesity, track from childhood into adult life. The present review summarises some of the evidence that these factors, when measured in childhood, may be of value in assessing the risk of adult cardiometabolic disease, and as such proceeds to describe some of the methods for assessing cardiometabolic risk in children.

scholarly journals Mammalian foetal ovarian development: consequences for health and disease

Reproduction ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 143 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mai A Sarraj ◽  
Ann E Drummond
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Ovarian Development ◽  
Primordial Germ Cells ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Primordial Follicles ◽  
Cellular Processes ◽  
Foetal Life ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
Female Specific ◽  
Bipotential Gonad

The development of a normal ovary during foetal life is essential for the production and ovulation of a high-quality oocyte in adult life. Early in embryogenesis, the primordial germ cells (PGCs) migrate to and colonise the genital ridges. Once the PGCs reach the bipotential gonad, the absence of the sex-determining region on the Y chromosome (SRY) gene and the presence of female-specific genes ensure that the indifferent gonad takes the female pathway and an ovary forms. PGCs enter into meiosis, transform into oogonia and ultimately give rise to oocytes that are later surrounded by granulosa cells to form primordial follicles. Various genes and signals are implicated in germ and somatic cell development, leading to successful follicle formation and normal ovarian development. This review focuses on the differentiation events, cellular processes and molecular mechanisms essential for foetal ovarian development in the mice and humans. A better understanding of these early cellular and morphological events will facilitate further study into the regulation of oocyte development, manifestation of ovarian disease and basis of female infertility.

An evaluation of the production potential of six tropical grasses under grazing. 3. Responses to set stocking rates under continuous grazing

1992 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 693 ◽  
Author(s):  
TR Evans ◽  
JB Hacker
Keyword(s):  
Animal Production ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Production Potential ◽  
Species Response ◽  
Highest Weight ◽  
Continuous Grazing ◽  
Average Rainfall ◽  
Kikuyu Grass ◽  
Stocking Rates ◽  
Grazing Pressures

The response of 3 setaria cultivars, the setaria variety splendida, kikuyu grass, and pangola grass to stocking rates of 4-6 steers/ha under continuous grazing was evaluated over a 3-year period. On a year-round basis, averaged over stocking rates, liveweight gain per ha ranged from 822 kg on Narok (164 kg/steer) to 568 kg on Kazungula (114 kg/steer). Narok produced the highest weight gains in summer and winter (142 and 23 kg/steer, respectively). The greatest winter weight loss was from steers grazing Nandi and Kazungula (both -15 kg/steer). Animal production in a year of above-average rainfall, in both summer and winter periods, was markedly reduced overall, even though the quantity of feed on offer was increased. The year x grass interaction was statistically significant in summer, but year x stocking rate and grass x stocking rate were not. Species response to stocking rate showed a linear relationship between stocking rate and liveweight gain per steer, declining with increasing stocking rate, except for Narok setaria where the reverse occurred over the range of 4-6 steers/ha. The results of this experiment support those previously published on these 6 grasses and demonstrate the species potential for good levels of animal production per ha and their ability to withstand high grazing pressures and to maintain weed-free pastures.

scholarly journals Health in Transition: Translating developmental origins of health and disease science to improve future health in Africa

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Awareness ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Research Capacity ◽  
Ageing Population ◽  
Developmental Origins ◽  
Future Health ◽  
Health And Nutrition ◽  
Health And Disease

At STIAS, the ‘Health in Transition’ theme includes a programme to address the epidemic rise in the incidence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, obesity, coronary heart disease and stroke in Africa. The aim is to advance awareness, research capacity and knowledge translation of science related to the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) as a means of preventing NCDs in future generations. Application of DOHaD science is a promising avenue for prevention, as this field is identifying how health and nutrition from conception through the first 1 000 days of life can dramatically impact a developing individual’s future life course, and specifically predicate whether or not they are programmed in infancy to develop NCDs in later life. Prevention of NCDs is an essential strategy as, if unchecked, the burden of caring for a growing and ageing population with these diseases threatens to consume entire health budgets, as well as negatively impact the quality of life of millions. Africa in particular needs specific, focussed endeavors to realize the maximal preventive potential of DOHaD science, and a means of generating governmental and public awareness about the links between health in infancy and disease in adult life. This volume summarizes the expertise and experience of a leading group of international scientists led by Abdallah Daar brought together at STIAS as part of the ‘Health in Transition’ programme.

scholarly journals Regulation of CAR and PXR Expression in Health and Disease

Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 2395
Author(s):  
Martine Daujat-Chavanieu ◽  
Sabine Gerbal-Chaloin
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Nuclear Receptor ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Constitutive Androstane Receptor ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Pregnane X Receptor ◽  
Regulatory Mechanisms ◽  
Nuclear Receptor Superfamily ◽  
Pathological Conditions ◽  
Health And Disease

Pregnane X receptor (PXR, NR1I2) and constitutive androstane receptor (CAR, NR1I3) are members of the nuclear receptor superfamily that mainly act as ligand-activated transcription factors. Their functions have long been associated with the regulation of drug metabolism and disposition, and it is now well established that they are implicated in physiological and pathological conditions. Considerable efforts have been made to understand the regulation of their activity by their cognate ligand; however, additional regulatory mechanisms, among which the regulation of their expression, modulate their pleiotropic effects. This review summarizes the current knowledge on CAR and PXR expression during development and adult life; tissue distribution; spatial, temporal, and metabolic regulations; as well as in pathological situations, including chronic diseases and cancers. The expression of CAR and PXR is modulated by complex regulatory mechanisms that involve the interplay of transcription factors and also post-transcriptional and epigenetic modifications. Moreover, many environmental stimuli affect CAR and PXR expression through mechanisms that have not been elucidated.

scholarly journals Early AGEing and metabolic diseases: is perinatal exposure to glycotoxins programming for adult-life metabolic syndrome?

2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-24
Author(s):  
Flávio A Francisco ◽  
Lucas P J Saavedra ◽  
Marcos D F Junior ◽  
Cátia Barra ◽  
Paulo Matafome ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Metabolic Syndrome ◽  
Metabolic Diseases ◽  
System Development ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Nervous System Development ◽  
Perinatal Exposure ◽  
Endogenous Production ◽  
Glycation End Products ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
General Aspects

Abstract Perinatal early nutritional disorders are critical for the developmental origins of health and disease. Glycotoxins, or advanced glycation end-products, and their precursors such as the methylglyoxal, which are formed endogenously and commonly found in processed foods and infant formulas, may be associated with acute and long-term metabolic disorders. Besides general aspects of glycotoxins, such as their endogenous production, exogenous sources, and their role in the development of metabolic syndrome, we discuss in this review the sources of perinatal exposure to glycotoxins and their involvement in metabolic programming mechanisms. The role of perinatal glycotoxin exposure in the onset of insulin resistance, central nervous system development, cardiovascular diseases, and early aging also are discussed, as are possible interventions that may prevent or reduce such effects.

scholarly journals The Human Gut Phageome: Origins and Roles in the Human Gut Microbiome

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleanor M. Townsend ◽  
Lucy Kelly ◽  
George Muscatt ◽  
Joshua D. Box ◽  
Nicole Hargraves ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Microbial Populations ◽  
Human Gut ◽  
Bacterial Populations ◽  
Human Gut Microbiome ◽  
Microbiome Research ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
Over Time

The investigation of the microbial populations of the human body, known as the microbiome, has led to a revolutionary field of science, and understanding of its impacts on human development and health. The majority of microbiome research to date has focussed on bacteria and other kingdoms of life, such as fungi. Trailing behind these is the interrogation of the gut viruses, specifically the phageome. Bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacterial hosts, are known to dictate the dynamics and diversity of bacterial populations in a number of ecosystems. However, the phageome of the human gut, while of apparent importance, remains an area of many unknowns. In this paper we discuss the role of bacteriophages within the human gut microbiome. We examine the methods used to study bacteriophage populations, how this evolved over time and what we now understand about the phageome. We review the phageome development in infancy, and factors that may influence phage populations in adult life. The role and action of the phageome is then discussed at both a biological-level, and in the broader context of human health and disease.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document