It has been observed by Lee et al.(2013) that preconception consumption of ethanol by male mice results in skull malformation. Knezovich & Ramsay (2012) found that transgenerational toxic effects are due to epigenetic mutations in sperm DNA caused by alcohol. Laufer et al. (2013) found three imprinting control regions (ICRs), Sfmbt2, Snrpn-Ube3a, Dlk-Dio3, that are differentially methylated when the fetus is exposed to alcohol. These three ICRs are related to the development of the brain (Laufer and Singh, 2012).
My question is are these 3 imprinted regions differentially methylated in the sperm when the mice is fed ethanol compared to a no ethanol diet regime and then passed on to their offsprings to produce abnormal phenotypes such as skull malformations observed by Lee et al. (2013)?
Pam’s Feedback:
Hi Ryan,
your question is excellent! One thing to consider: Knezovich & Ramsay
mention two loci that were differentially methylated in the progeny of
males exposed to alcohol (but were not differentially methylated in the
sperm of the fathers).
You will want to take into consideration that something similar might also
be the case for your three selected loci.
Proceed with your question, it’s a good one!
Cheers
Pam