Environmentally Induced Sperm RNAs Transmit Cancer Susceptibility to Offspring in a Mouse Model [non-coding RNA-Seq]

While mature sperm is transcriptionally inactive, recent studies show that, following testicular its exit, the mammalian sperm acquires a load of small non-coding RNAs during transit in the epididymis, the last stage of sperm maturation. Importantly, this non-coding RNA load is sensitive to environmental insults. To determine the impact of DDT exposure on the mouse sperm RNA content and to establish whether regulation of miRNAs and in sperm was, in fact, induced by DDT exposure, we treated DDT-exposed mice with phenobarbital (PB), a drug known to promote hepatic enzymes activation and accelerate DDT metabolism and excretion in humans and animals. Then, we performed RNA-seq analysis to profile small RNAs.