Mother's diet changes baby's genes

[Guest guest]

Food fur thought: the diet can dye it

August 4 2003

 

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/08/03/1059849278586.html

 

 

 

Washington: Scientists say they have changed the colours of baby mice simply

by altering their mothers' diets.

 

The study shows that common nutrients can influence which genes turn on and

off in a developing foetus.

 

Writing in Molecular and Cellular Biology, scientists at Duke University

Medical Centre, North Carolina, said they changed the colour of baby mouse

fur by feeding pregnant mice four supplements - vitamin B12, folic acid,

choline and betaine.

 

Mice given the four supplements gave birth to babies that had predominantly

brown coats. Pregnant mice not fed the supplements gave birth mostly to

babies with yellow coats.

 

Careful study showed the extra nutrients turned down expression of a gene

called agouti, which affects fur colour.

 

 

Randy Jirtle, a professor of radiation oncology who directed the study,

said: " For the first time ever, we have shown precisely how nutritional

supplementation to the mother can permanently alter gene expression in her

offspring without altering the genes themselves. "

 

The researchers said there was much support for the idea that nutrition

could affect gene expression in people. Several studies have shown that

women who have a poor diet while pregnant have children who grow up with a

tendency to diabetes and heart disease.

 

This study could help explain that. The agouti gene not only affects coat

colour, but also metabolic factors involved in diabetes and heart disease.

 

Mice with overactive agouti genes tend to be obese and susceptible to

diabetes because the protein controlled by the gene affects one brain signal

involved in appetite.

 

A researcher, Rob Waterland, said: " Diet, nutritional supplements and other

seemingly innocuous compounds can alter the development in utero to such an

extent that it changes the offspring's characteristics for life, and

potentially that of future generations. "

 

Nutrition is likely to be one of the environmental factors that decides

which genes turn on and which stay silent. Everyone inherits two copies of

each gene - one from each parent. For most functions, only one gene

expresses while the other is silent.

 

" Our study demonstrates how early environmental factors can alter gene

expression without mutating the gene itself, " Mr Waterland said.

 

Reuters