Epigenetic Transgenerational Alterations to Stress Response in Brain Gene Networks and Behaviour

Ancestral environmental exposures that promote epigenetic transgenerational inheritance influence all aspects of an individuals life history. Stress experienced during adolescence can affect adult physiological and behavioural phenotypes. The current study utilized a systems biology approach to investigate the interactions of these two forms of epigenetic modification, one carried in the germline transgenerationally and the other contained in the context of life history. A transgenerational epigenetic imprint left by the fungicide vinclozolin promoted regional specific brain gene networks that influenced chronic restraint stress responses to alter adult physiological, brain and behavioural phenotypes. The environmentally-induced epigenetic transgenerational inheritance was found to interact with early life stress response to impact the adult brain genome activity to bring the phenotype into being.

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Crews D, Gillette R, Scarpino SV, Manikkam M, Savenkova MI, Skinner MK