Starvation Impacts are Passed Down for Generations

The effects of starvation could be handed down for generations. Scientists have found that starvation early in life can alter an organism for generations to come.

In this latest study, the researchers looked at C. elegans worms for one or eight days at the first stage of larval development after hatching. When feeding was resumed, the worms that had starved longer grew more slowly, and ended up smaller and less fertile. They were also more susceptible to a second bout of starvation.

What was truly interesting, though, was the effect on the offspring of the worms. The offspring of the starved worms were more resistant to starvation and also to heat. In addition, more of them were male instead of the usual hermaphroditic, self-fertilizing form.

In their natural conditions, it appears as if worms are able to increase their growth rate and fertility in times of plenty and then are able to turn these traits back down in hard times.

"They have a memory of famine," said Ryan Baugh, one of the researchers, in a news release. In fact, the net result is a combination of fitness costs and benefits that unfold over generations.

The appearance of more males could actually be a stress response that ensures greater genetic diversity than could be obtained with self-fertilization.

The findings reveal a bit more about starvation. More specifically, it shows that even after initial famine conditions, starvation can impact generations for years afterward.

The findings are published in the journal Genetics.

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