Department of Biology

Epigenetic Inheritance and Environmental Health Effects

Dr. Xuegeng Wang

March 11, 2020
4-5pm

Environmental toxicant exposure can cause phenotypic changes at various levels of biological organization. An organism that develops abnormal health outcomes without direct chemical exposure, but rather because prior generations were exposed, is said to have a transgenerational phenotype. Evidence suggests that sperm can carry such effects in the form of epigenetic modifications. Genomic methylation reprogramming occurs in embryo and primordial germ cells (PGCs) which are considered sensitive to environmental stressors. Our results provide insights into epigenetic mechanisms underlying transgenerational epigenetic inheritance of environmentally induced phenotypes.