Starvation May Change Future Generations: New Study Reveals Impacts of Starving

Starvation may not just impact an individual; it could also affect future generations. A new study reveals that starvation can affect the health of descendants of famished individuals and has shown exactly how acquired traits are transmitted from one generation to the next.

In order to find out exactly how traits from starvation are passed on to offspring, the researchers looked at roundworms. More specifically, they starved roundworms for six days and then examined their cells for molecular changes. The scientists found that the starved roundworms, but not the controls, generated a specific set of small RNAs. Small RNAs are involved in various aspects of gene expression but do not code for proteins. These small RNAs persisted for at least three generations, even after the worms were fed normal diets.

"We know from other studies that small RNAs can be transported from cell to cell around the body," said Oliver Hobert, the study leader, in a news release. "So it's conceivable that the starvation-induced small RNAs found their way into the worms' germ cells-that is, their sperm or eggs. When the worms reproduced, the small RNAs could have been transmitted generationally in the cell body of the germ cells, independent of the DNA."

The offspring of the starved worms surprisingly had a longer life than the offspring of the controls. The scientists believe that it's possible that the small RNAs provided a means for the worms to control the expression of relevant genes in later generations.

The findings do suggest that we should be aware of how certain environmental impacts can affect future offspring. These changes can have long-term impacts on the health of an organism. That said, more research needs to be conducted before scientists can determine whether these effects also extend to humans.

The findings are published in the journal Cell.