A study in mice reveals that the health of a father’s gut microbiota may play a role in his child’s physiology and behavior.
- Researchers observed that depletion of the gut microbiota of male mice was associated with changes in their sperm that significantly affected their offspring.
- The body weight of both male and female offspring had decreased, as had the length of their intestines. The female offspring presented depressive-type behaviors.
- “The function of the human gut microbiota is similar to that of mice, and we believe our results may have broader implications for human health.”
“We’re used to hearing that women need to take care of their physical health for the sake of their babies. Our recent findings in mice and humans suggest that it’s important for men to do this too.” A team of scientists has shown, for the first time, that a father’s gut health can affect the physiology and behavior of his children.
Father’s intestinal microbiota and child neurodevelopment
To arrive at these conclusions, published in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunityresearchers from theFlorey Institute for Neuroscience and Mental Healthin the United States, carried out experiments on mice. They observed that depletion of the male rodents’ gut microbiota was associated with changes in their sperm that significantly affected their offspring.
“Male mice were given oral antibiotics intended to deplete their gut microbiota, specifies Professor Anthony Hannan, lead author of the work, in a press release. We found that this leads to epigenetic changes in sperm that could alter neurodevelopment and brain function in offspring.” The body weight of both male and female offspring decreased, as did the length of their intestines. Similarly, female offspring experienced changes in anxiety and exhibited depressive-like behaviors.
Influence the well-being of future children
According to scientists, the composition of microbial populations in the gut in mice and humans can be affected by many environmental factors such as diet, exercise and stress. Previous studies also found that mouse offspring were distressed by changes in the father’s sperm caused by bacterial and viral infections, as well as this triptych.
“The function of the human gut microbiota is similar to that of mice, and we believe our results may have broader implications for human health. Particularly for men who plan to start a family, as long as their nutrition and health health before conception are likely to affect the well-being of their future children”conclude the authors of the study.
