In a paper published April 27 in Nature's open access journal Scientific Reports,
researchers at the University of Nevada, Reno report that male
pseudoscorpions treated with the antibiotic tetracycline suffer
significantly reduced sperm viability and pass this toxic effect on to
their untreated sons. They suggest that a similar effect could occur in
humans and other species.
"This is the first research to show a transgenerational effect of
antibiotics," David Zeh, chair of the Department of Biology in the
College of Science, said. "Tetracycline has a significant detrimental
effect on male reproductive function and sperm viability of
pseudoscorpions - reducing viability by up to 25 percent - and now we
know that effect is passed on to the next generation. We didn't see the
effect in subsequent generations."
The research involved a three-generation study of the pseudoscorpion, Cordylochernes scorpioides,
a small scorpion-like arachnid. To control for genetic influences, in
the first generation, brothers and sisters from each of 21 broods were
either treated with weekly doses of tetracycline from birth to adulthood
or were reared as untreated controls. Subsequent generations were not
treated with tetracycline. The antibiotic had no effect on male or
female body size, sperm number or female reproduction, they found.
In the article, lead author and assistant biology professor Jeanne
Zeh surmises that tetracycline may induce epigenetic changes in male
reproductive tissues that may be passed to sons -- changes that do not
alter the sequence of DNA but rather alter the way genes are expressed.
The broad-spectrum antibiotic tetracycline is commonly used in animal
production, antimicrobial therapy, and for curing arthropods infected
with bacterial endosymbionts such as Wolbachia. Despite more than six
decades of therapeutic and agricultural use that has resulted in the
evolution of widespread bacterial resistance, tetracycline is still
commonly used as an additive in animal feed and as an accessible
antimicrobial therapy in developing countries.
The research involved University of Nevada, Reno undergraduate and
graduate students and was part of a project, funded by the National
Science Foundation, which is investigating factors contributing to low
male fertility.
Journal Reference:
- Jeanne A. Zeh, Melvin M. Bonilla, Angelica J. Adrian, Sophia Mesfin, David W. Zeh. From father to son: transgenerational effect of tetracycline on sperm viability. Scientific Reports, 2012; 2 DOI: 10.1038/srep00375
Courtesy: ScienceDaily
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