We all have heard the saying, "You are what you eat." Now there may be evidence that statement may apply to developing fetuses too. Research shows that a mother's diet around the time of conception can permanently influence her baby's DNA.
... Scientists followed 84 pregnant women who conceived at the peak of the rainy season, and about the same number who conceived at the peak of the dry season.
Nutrient levels were measured in blood samples taken from the women; while the DNA of their babies was analysed two to eight months after birth.
Lead scientist Dr Branwen Hennig, from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said it was the first demonstration in humans that a mother's nutrition at the time of conception can change how her child's genes will be interpreted for life.
She told BBC News: "Our results have shown that maternal nutrition pre-conception and in early pregnancy is important and may have implications for health outcomes of the next generation.
"Women should have a well-balanced food diet prior to conception and during pregnancy."
What's going on here? Epigenetics, functionally relevant changes to the genome that do not involve a change in the nucleotide sequence.
...One such modification involves attaching chemicals called methyl groups to DNA.
Infants from rainy season conceptions had consistently higher rates of methylation in all six genes studied, the researchers found.
These were linked to various levels of nutrients in the mother's blood.
But it is not yet known what the genes do, and what effect the process might have.
The study, published in Nature Communications, demonstrates that a mother's diet can have epigenetic effects.
So which is it - Nature or Nurture? The answer may truly be both.
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