Epigenetics, Maternal Diet and Metabolic Programming

Nutritional anthropology in the world

Nutritional anthropology is the study of human subsistence, diet and nutrition in comparative social and evolutionary perspective. Many factors influence the nutritional health and well-being of populations, including evolutionary, ecological, social, cultural and historical ones. Most usually, biocultural approaches are used in nutritional anthropology, incorporating methods and theory from social science as well as nutritional and evolutionary science. This review describes approaches used in the nutritional anthropology of past and present-day societies. Issues of concern for nutritional anthropology in the world now include: understanding how undernutrition and food insecurity are produced at local, regional and international levels; how food systems are constructed using social, biological and biocultural perspectives; and obesity from a biocultural viewpoint. By critiquing framings of present-day diet in an evolutionary context, nutritional anthropology asks 'what should be eaten?', rather than 'what can be eaten?', and 'how cheaply can people be fed?'.

Nutrition, DNA methylation and obesity across life stages and generations

Obesity is a complex multifactorial condition that often manifests in early life with a lifelong burden on metabolic health. Diet, including pre-pregnancy maternal diet, in utero nutrition and dietary patterns in early and late life, can shape obesity development. Growing evidence suggests that epigenetic modifications, specifically DNA methylation, might mediate or accompany these effects across life stages and generations. By reviewing human observational and intervention studies conducted over the past 10 years, this work provides a comprehensive overview of the evidence linking nutrition to DNA methylation and its association with obesity across different age periods, spanning from preconception to adulthood and identify future research directions in the field.

Reflections about the Molecular Tool That Could Change the Course of Human History: Genome Editing

Genetic editing has many applications in almost all areas of society, but may also lead to unpredictable consequences. Genome editing to modify the human germline is at the center of global discussion. Owing to the increasing number of unanswered scientific, ethical, and policy questions, the scientific community agrees that it would be inappropriate to genetically modify embryos. A serious and open debate is necessary to decide whether such research should be suspended or encouraged. Here we show some bold arguments in favor of deleting deleterious genes from the human genome and the risks liberal eugenism poses.

Prophylactic Use of Natural Products against Developmentally Programmed Metabolic Syndrome

Parental dietary choices and/or nutritional interventions in the offspring are critical to early life development, especially during the periods of active developmental plasticity in the offspring. Exposure to a high-fructose, high-fat diet during the fetal or neonatal period predisposes the affected individuals to the development of one or more features of metabolic syndrome, such as dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, diabetes, and associated cardiovascular diseases, later in their life. Owing to the increasing global prevalence of metabolic syndrome and multiple side effects that accompany conventional medicines, much attention is directed towards medicinal plants and phytochemicals as alternative interventions. Several studies have investigated the potential of natural agents to prevent programmed metabolic syndrome. This present review, therefore, highlights an inextricable relationship between the administration of medicinal plants or phytochemicals during the intrauterine or neonatal period, and the prevention of metabolic dysfunction in adulthood, while exploring the mechanisms by which they exert such an effect. The review also identifies plant products as a novel approach to the prevention and management of metabolic syndrome.

Effect of micro-algae Schizochytrium sp. supplementation in plant diet on reproduction of female rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss): maternal programming impact of progeny

Background

The broodstock diet, and in particular the lipid and fatty acid composition of the diet, is known to play a key role in reproductive efficiency and survival of the progeny in fish. A major problem when replacing both fish meal and fish oil by plant sources is the lack of n-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). To address this problem, we studied the effect of the plant-based diet supplemented with Schizochytrium sp. microalgae, source of DHA, compared to a conventional commercial diet rich in fish meal and fish oil on reproductive performance and egg quality and the consequences on progeny, in female rainbow trout broodstock.

Results

The results demonstrated that DHA-rich microalgae supplementation in a plant-based diet allowed for the maintenance of reproductive performance and egg quality comparable to a conventional commercial feed rich in fish meal and fish oil and led to an increased significant fry survival after resorption. Moreover, when females were fed a plant-based diet supplemented with micro-algae, the 4-month-old progenies showed a significant higher growth when they were challenged with a similar diet as broodstock during 1 month. We provide evidence for metabolic programming in which the maternal dietary induced significant protracted effects on lipid metabolism of progeny.

Conclusions

The present study demonstrates that supplementation of a plant-based diet with DHA-rich microalgae can be an effective alternative to fish meal and fish oil in rainbow trout broodstock aquafeed.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40104-022-00680-9.

Epigenetics in the Uterine Environment: How Maternal Diet and ART May Influence the Epigenome in the Offspring with Long-Term Health Consequences

The societal burden of non-communicable disease is closely linked with environmental exposures and lifestyle behaviours, including the adherence to a poor maternal diet from the earliest preimplantation period of the life course onwards. Epigenetic variations caused by a compromised maternal nutritional status can affect embryonic development. This review summarises the main epigenetic modifications in mammals, especially DNA methylation, histone modifications, and ncRNA. These epigenetic changes can compromise the health of the offspring later in life. We discuss different types of nutritional stressors in human and animal models, such as maternal undernutrition, seasonal diets, low-protein diet, high-fat diet, and synthetic folic acid supplement use, and how these nutritional exposures epigenetically affect target genes and their outcomes. In addition, we review the concept of thrifty genes during the preimplantation period, and some examples that relate to epigenetic change and diet. Finally, we discuss different examples of maternal diets, their effect on outcomes, and their relationship with assisted reproductive technology (ART), including their implications on epigenetic modifications.