Mature sperm small-RNA profile in the sparrow: implications for transgenerational effects of age on fitness.

ABSTRACT: Mammalian sperm RNA has recently received a lot of interest due to its involvement in epigenetic germline inheritance. Studies of epigenetic germline inheritance have shown that environmental exposures can induce effects in the offspring without altering the DNA sequence of germ cells. Most mechanistic studies were conducted in laboratory rodents and C.elegans while observational studies confirm the phenotypic phenomenon in wild populations of humans and other species including birds. Prominently, paternal age in house sparrows affects offspring fitness, yet the mechanism is unknown. This study provides a first reference of house sparrow sperm small RNA as an attempt to uncover their role in the transmission of the effects of paternal age on the offspring. In this small-scale pilot,

SUBMITTER: Matsushima W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6527922 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature