Project 451908

Identification of functional epigenomic regions in sperm that are environmentally responsive and associate with fertility and embryo development

451908

Identification of functional epigenomic regions in sperm that are environmentally responsive and associate with fertility and embryo development

$879,750
Project Information
Study Type: Unclear
Research Theme: Biomedical
Institution & Funding
Principal Investigator(s): Kimmins, Sarah; Dumeaux, Vanessa
Co-Investigator(s): Lambrot, Romain; Librach, Clifford L; Moskovtsev, Sergey; Russell, Stewart
Institution: McGill University
CIHR Institute: Gender and Health
Program: Project Grant
Peer Review Committee: Clinical Investigation - A: Reproduction, Maternal, Child and Youth Health 2
Competition Year: 2021
Term: 5 yrs 0 mth
Abstract Summary

Globally the prevalence of diabetes, obesity, infertility and other chronic diseases are on the rise.These increases have occurred at rates that cannot be due to changes to the DNA. Instead it is likely that rising rates of chronic disease are instead caused by environmental exposures such as diet and toxicants that modify how our genes are used. The environment and other factors such as body weight can alter what is known as epigenetic information. The epigenetic layer associated with DNA is made up of heritable molecules in sperm that are transmitted at fertilization to the embryo. This information impacts how the embryo develops and the health of that child. This research will help us to understand how environmental exposures alter the heritable epigenetic information to impact health across generations. These studies will create new knowledge that will allow for the development of intervention strategies to improve the health of men, babies and children.

No special research characteristics identified

This project does not include any of the advanced research characteristics tracked in our database.

Keywords
Chromatin Development Embryo Epigenetic Inheritance Epigenomics Infertility Obesity Reproduction Sperm Transcription