The microbiota and T cells non-genetically modulate inherited phenotypes transgenerationally

oleh: Jordan C. Harris, Natalie A. Trigg, Bruktawit Goshu, Yuichi Yokoyama, Lenka Dohnalová, Ellen K. White, Adele Harman, Sofía M. Murga-Garrido, Jamie Ting-Chun Pan, Preeti Bhanap, Christoph A. Thaiss, Elizabeth A. Grice, Colin C. Conine, Taku Kambayashi

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: Elsevier 2024-04-01

Deskripsi

Summary: The host-microbiota relationship has evolved to shape mammalian physiology, including immunity, metabolism, and development. Germ-free models are widely used to study microbial effects on host processes such as immunity. Here, we find that both germ-free and T cell-deficient mice exhibit a robust sebum secretion defect persisting across multiple generations despite microbial colonization and T cell repletion. These phenotypes are inherited by progeny conceived during in vitro fertilization using germ-free sperm and eggs, demonstrating that non-genetic information in the gametes is required for microbial-dependent phenotypic transmission. Accordingly, gene expression in early embryos derived from gametes from germ-free or T cell-deficient mice is strikingly and similarly altered. Our findings demonstrate that microbial- and immune-dependent regulation of non-genetic information in the gametes can transmit inherited phenotypes transgenerationally in mice. This mechanism could rapidly generate phenotypic diversity to enhance host adaptation to environmental perturbations.