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Fat eggs shape offspring health

Nature Genetics volume 48, pages 478–479 (2016)Cite this article

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How maternal diet influences offspring metabolism is unclear, as it is difficult to distinguish between the effects of the in utero environment and epigenetic factors contributed by the oocyte. In a mouse model of high-fat diet, a new study teases apart these mechanisms by using in vitro fertilization and shows that susceptibility of offspring to metabolic disorder can likely be attributed to epigenetic inheritance via the oocyte.

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Figure 1: Potential epigenetic factors transmitted by oocytes.

Kim Caesar/Nature Publishing Group

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Erica D. Watson and Joanna Rakoczy are in the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,

    Erica D Watson & Joanna Rakoczy

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  1. Erica D Watson
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  2. Joanna Rakoczy
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Correspondence to Erica D Watson.

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Watson, E., Rakoczy, J. Fat eggs shape offspring health. Nat Genet 48, 478–479 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/ng.3554

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