ABSTRACT
Contents 7.1 Introduction ........................................................................................... 156 7.2 Epigenetic mechanisms ....................................................................... 156 7.3 Methyl and acetyl metabolism provide donors
for epigenetic modifications ................................................................ 158 7.4 Yellow agouti mouse models provide visible
readouts of epigenetic effects .............................................................. 160 7.5 Maternal diet affects the epigenetics of
yellow agouti offspring .........................................................................161 7.6 Maternal nutrition can affect at least
two generations ......................................................................................162 7.7 Nutrition in mid-pregnancy can change
epigenetics of yellow agouti offspring ............................................... 163 7.8 Maternal choline intake affects epigenetics,
memory, and aging ............................................................................... 164 7.9 Maternal effects on the development of T2DM ................................ 165 7.10 Honey bee phenotypes are determined
epigenetically ..........................................................................................167 7.11 Conclusions ............................................................................................ 168 Acknowledgments ......................................................................................... 169 References ........................................................................................................ 169
Maternal nutrition can affect a wide variety of characteristics in offspring, including health, appearance, memory and morphology. Many of these effects are life long but can be achieved with just a brief treatmentduring part or all of gestation. In most cases the most effective treatments to achieve these maternal effects have not been determined. In other cases, effective treatments have not been chemically defined. Only a minute fraction of potential treatments and putative toxic agents have
been tested for epigenetic effects. The strong effects of maternal diet on offspring make it imperative that the role of maternal nutrition and exposure to various environmental agents in offspring and multigenerational health be a research and public health priority.
