Offspring may inherit legacy of their father's Toxoplasma infection
Wednesday, April 29, 2020 - 14:10
in Biology & Nature
Researchers have revealed for the first time that males infected with the Toxoplasma parasite can impact their offspring's brain health and behavior. Studying mice infected with the common parasite Toxoplasma, the team discovered that sperm of infected fathers carried an altered 'epigenetic' signature which impacted the brains of resulting offspring. Molecules in the sperm called 'small RNA' appeared to influence the offspring's brain development and behavior.