Transgenerational alterations of genome-wide DNA methylation patterns in the pancreas of Xenopus tropicalis frogs induced by the herbicide linuron

We have recently shown that linuron can cause endocrine disrupting effects in Xenopus tropicalis frogs, and that these effects can be transmitted across generations, even to offspring that were never exposed to the contaminant. However, the mechanisms underlying these transgenerational effects require further investigation. Here, we conducted a study examining the transgenerational effects of linuron on DNA methylation patterns in the pancreas of X. tropicalis. Tadpoles were exposed to an environmentally relevant concentration of linuron during development (45 µg/L) until metamorphosis, and adult males were then mated with naïve females to obtain the F1 generation frogs. Adult males from linuron lineage F1 were mated with control F1 females to obtain F2 generation and follow the paternally inherited transgenerational effects. Reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS) was used to assess DNA methylation patterns of the adult male F2 generation.