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DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY

Oocyte metabolites are heritable factors that drive metabolic reprogramming of the progeny

Nature Metabolism volume 3, pages 1148–1149 (2021)Cite this article

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The maternal diet can impact offspring development, yet the mechanisms responsible for this remain largely unknown. New research shows that oocyte metabolites, specifically NAD+ and the methyl donor S-adenosylmethionine, can mediate the impact of maternal nutrient stress on the progeny through metabolic reprogramming in Drosophila.

The ‘Developmental Origins of Health and Disease Hypothesis’ posits that adverse environmental exposures during a critical developmental window influence growth trajectories before birth and alter disease risk later in life1. Germline cells are believed to be particularly sensitive to changes in nutritional, chemical and endocrine environments. Metabolic disturbances in oocytes contribute to developmental impairments, such as meiotic abnormalities and increased oxidative stress. Of note, emerging evidence suggests that factors within oocytes themselves might mediate the inter-transgenerational effects of maternal metabolic syndrome, such as obesity and diabetes2,3. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying this process remain poorly understood.

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Fig. 1: Oocyte metabolites serve as the potential heritable factors that drive reprogramming of progeny metabolism.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China

    Shuai Zhu & Qiang Wang

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  1. Shuai Zhu
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  2. Qiang Wang
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Correspondence to Qiang Wang.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Zhu, S., Wang, Q. Oocyte metabolites are heritable factors that drive metabolic reprogramming of the progeny. Nat Metab 3, 1148–1149 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-021-00447-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-021-00447-y

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