Transgenerational response to endocrine disruptor ingestion: phenotypic, genetic and epigenetic analyses in quail
- SUBJECT
Environmental exposures, for example to chemicals, can have a long-term influence on
animal, vegetal and human phenotypes, resulting in repercussions on their health, sometimes
for several generations. "Epigenetic inheritance" is subject to intense debate in the scientific
community. The aim of this thesis project is to study how changes in the embryonic
environment influence phenotypes for multiple generations in quail. The treatment chosen is
the ingestion of a natural endocrine disruptor, genistein, by mothers, during the egg
production phase. The project aims to characterize the effects of such treatment on several
phenotypes, to evaluate the persistence of the observed effect over generations, to better
estimate the respective parts of genetics and epigenetics in the phenotypic variability, and to
contribute to the improvement of phenotype prediction models by taking into account
epigenetic marks. The last part of the thesis aspires to improve the knowledge of the
molecular mechanisms underlying transgenerational epigenetic phenomena, by
characterizing the non-genetic marks transmitted through sperm.
