Paternal microbiome perturbations impact offspring fitness in mice.

Adverse parental environments prior to conception have the potential to modify the phenotype of offspring. We studied acute perturbations of the gut microbiota in male mice with regard to the susceptibility of their offspring to detrimental phenotypes. Our study identifies a major inter-generational effect of paternal microbiome perturbation as part of a key "gut-germline axis" in mammals.