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REPRODUCTIVE ENDOCRINOLOGY

Dad’s diet – smRNA methylation signatures in sperm pass on disease risk

Nature Reviews Endocrinology volume 14, pages 446–447 (2018)Cite this article

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Metabolic disease risk is thought to arise at the interface of genetics and the environment. A new study identifies an enzyme that modifies small non-coding RNA and is required for passing on the effects of high-fat diet from father to offspring.

Refers to Zhang, Y. et al. Dnmt2 mediates intergenerational transmission of paternally acquired metabolic disorders through sperm small non-coding RNAs. Nat. Cell Biol. 20, 535–540 (2018).

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Fig. 1: Changes in tRNA-derived small RNAs following a high-fat diet.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Rahia Mashoodh

  2. Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Anne C. Ferguson-Smith

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  1. Rahia Mashoodh
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  2. Anne C. Ferguson-Smith
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Correspondence to Anne C. Ferguson-Smith.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Mashoodh, R., Ferguson-Smith, A.C. Dad’s diet – smRNA methylation signatures in sperm pass on disease risk. Nat Rev Endocrinol 14, 446–447 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-018-0051-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-018-0051-z

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