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posted by martyb on Thursday April 30 2020, @05:46PM   Printer-friendly
from the don't-poo-poo-cat-poo-warnings dept.

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

Offspring may inherit legacy of their father's Toxoplasma infection

Studying mice infected with the common parasite Toxoplasma, the team discovered that sperm of infected fathers carried an altered 'epigenetic' signature which impacted the brains of resulting offspring. Molecules in the sperm called 'small RNA' appeared to influence the offspring's brain development and behaviour.

'Intergenerational inheritance' of similar epigenetic changes from men exposed to extreme trauma has been well documented. This latest research, published in Cell Reports, has raised the question of whether Toxoplasma infections – or even possibly other infections – in men before conception could impact the health of subsequent generations.

The research was led by Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers Dr Shiraz Tyebji and Associate Professor Chris Tonkin, in collaboration with Professor Anthony Hannan at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health.

[...] Associate Professor Tonkin said people could carry the dormant Toxoplasma parasite for decades, and that this had been associated with the appearance of symptoms of mental disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

"Toxoplasma infections have been shown to cause long-term epigenetic changes in a range of cells around our body. These are changes that do not alter the genetic sequence of DNA, but influence gene expression – that is, which genes are switched on or off," he said.

[...] "We discovered that Toxoplasma infection alters levels of DNA-like molecules, called small RNA, that are carried by sperm," he said. "These changes in small RNA levels affect gene expression, and so could potentially influence brain development and behaviour of offspring.

"We were stunned to see that even the next generation – the 'grandchildren' of the original infected male – displayed changes in their behaviour," Dr Tyebji said.

Journal Reference:
Shiraz Tyebji, Anthony J. Hannan, Christopher J. Tonkin. Pathogenic Infection in Male Mice Changes Sperm Small RNA Profiles and Transgenerationally Alters Offspring Behavior. Cell Reports, 2020; 31 (4): 107573 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.107573

-- submitted from IRC


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  • (Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Friday May 01 2020, @12:31AM

    by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Friday May 01 2020, @12:31AM (#988775) Journal

    The idea of *random* mutations alone driving evolution *is* bullshit. Have you ever actually read the Origin? Or, for that matter, *any* genetics textbook written in the last 40 years?

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