Paternal diet induces transgenerational epigenetic inheritance of DNA methylation signatures and phenotypes in sheep model

We examined whether paternal diet from weaning to puberty induces sperm DNA methylation changes that can be transmitted to subsequent generations. Over 100 methylated cytosines environmentally altered in the F0 generation were inherited by the F1 and F2 generations. Furthermore, the F0 paternal diet was associated with growth and male fertility phenotypes in these generations. Differentially methylated genes also showed correlations with gene expression. Evaluation of the effect of paternal diet on DNA methylation and phenotypes of subsequent generations