A human dietary intervention study where participants receive different commonly consumed diet patterns and we are examining the impact it has on epigenetic markers in the sperm. This part of the study is with individual people, singletons.
A human dietary intervention study where participants receive different commonly consumed diet patterns and we are examining the impact it has on epigenetic markers in the sperm. This part of the study is with individual people, singletons.
It is known that the epigenome of sperm cells can be changed when men are exposed to lifestyle changes, such as increased exercise or weight loss. Further, these epigenetic changes have been noted to occur at places on the DNA that may impact the health and development of their children. One lifestyle choice of which we are still working to understand the impact on the quality and epigenome of sperm is diet. Previous research in animals has shown that certain diets in fathers-to-be can potentially lead to altered health outcomes in their children. To help us better understand how the current modern diets of men may be effecting their sperm we designed the Food intake and Epigenetic Alteration in Spermatozoa of Singletons and Twins, also known as the FEASST study.
We will provide male participants with two specific diets, and we will collect health information and biological samples such as blood, semen, and saliva throughout. The diets will consist of a ‘Processed’ and ‘Unprocessed’ version. The aim of these two diets is to study the health effect of consuming a diet matching what men are supposed to eat versus what they are actually eating. The ‘Processed’ diet is based on the average food intake of American men and is made to represent what men of child-rearing age are presently eating and consists of food products that have undergone industrial processing with added sugar, enriched in saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium. The ‘Unprocessed’ diet is based on the dietary guidelines for men from several countries, including Australia, the US, and Nordic Nations, meant to represent the current nutritional recommendations that are given to young men for optimal health and consists of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, unsaturated fats, lean protein, and fibre.
Participants will be given these diets for three-weeks, followed by a three-month break, and then another three-weeks eating the diet opposite to the one they had during the first three-weeks. Throughout the study various measurements are taken such as: body weight, sperm quality, blood levels of markers related to reproduction and metabolism, and survey information surrounding mental and physical health.
Once the study is completed, blood and semen samples will be further analysed in the lab to identify any epigenetic changes or patterns. We will look at epigenetic changes such as presence of RNA species and epigenetic-modifying features that interact with gene expression. We will analyse data from these experimental procedures to determine the relationship of different diets on the characteristics of sperm
An ex vivo characterisation of tissue specific epigenetic remodelling in offspring sired from nutritionally challenged fathers. We utilise approaches such as HI-C and ATAC-seq to develop a picture of genetic architecture, and integrate chromatin confirmation and transcriptomic data to determine how epigenetic regulatory elements reshape the genome.
EpiPIG is a research study in which we are giving mini-pigs either a ‘Western’ high fat/high sugar diet or a normal pig diet to better understand what epigenetic impact this has on their sperm.
A human dietary intervention study where participants receive different commonly consumed diet patterns and we are examining the impact it has on epigenetic markers in the sperm. This branch of the study has twin male participants.
A dietary intervention study in which male mice are given one of 10 diets with different proportions of protein, fat and carbohydrates, and then mated to produce offspring. Following which, we examine the effect of these different diets on the overall health and behaviour of both the males and their offspring. We are especially looking for an epigenetic patterns.
A dietary intervention study with guinea pigs fed high or low –fat diets with or without additional Vitamin C to identify through which mechanisms nutritional factors influence epigenetic inheritance of obesity and metabolic disease.
A partnership with Taronga Zoo and the Copenhagen Zoo to assess sperm epigenetic signatures across a wide range of species. The study aims to build a reference map of sperm epigenome modifications among animal species to understand similarities and differences in what environmental information is transmitted in sperm.
SEAS = Sperm Epigenomics Across Species
Endurance training remodels sperm-borne small RNA expression and methylation at neurological gene hotspots.
We exposed young men to a 6-week endurance training exercise regime, and measured the epigenetic signature of their sperm before and after the intervention. This study highlighted exercise-induced remodelling of genes involved in the brain.
The epigenetic signature of both lean and obese men, and men before after weight loss was examined, highlighting both rapid and long-term remodelling of the sperm epigenome at gene regions involved in appetite regulation.