Transgenerational inheritance of wing development defects in Drosophila melanogaster induced by cadmium

• Published in: Ecotoxicology and environmental safety Vol. 250; p. 114486
• Main Authors: Sun, Liran, Mu, Yun, Xu, Lu, Han, Xiaobing, Gu, Wei, Zhang, Min
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Inc 15.01.2023; Elsevier
• Subjects: Animals; Cadmium; Cadmium - toxicity; DNA Methylation; Drosophila melanogaster; Drosophila melanogaster - genetics; Drosophila melanogaster - growth & development; Epigenesis, Genetic; Histone methylation; Histones - genetics; Histones - metabolism; Phenotype; Transgenerational inheritance; Wing defect; Wings, Animal - abnormalities; Cadmium; Wing defect; Transgenerational inheritance; Histone methylation; Drosophila melanogaster
• ISSN: 0147-6513; 1090-2414; 1090-2414
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2022.114486

The transgenerational inheritance of phenotype induced by environmental factors is a new focus in epigenetic research. In this study, Drosophila melanogaster (F0) was cultured in the medium containing cadmium (Cd, 4.5 mg/kg) from eggs to adults, and offspring (F1-F4) were continuously kept in standard medium (without cadmium). The phenotype analysis showed that cadmium induced developmental defects on wings and apoptosis in the wing disc cells of Drosophila (F0). The wing defects were transmitted for at least four generations even without Cd afterwards. And the effect on the mRNA expression of wing development related genes (shg, omb, F-actin, Mekk1) can be maintained for at least two or three generations. More importantly, under cadmium stress, the post-translational modification (PTM) on the histones H3K4me3 in the third instar larvae and ovaries or testes of adult flies increased significantly, while the levels of H3K9me3 and H3K27me3 decreased significantly. The expression of histone methylation related genes (dSet-1, ash1, Lsd1) increased significantly and these changes can be transmitted to offspring from one or two generations in ovaries or testes. These results suggest that the phenotypic defects of wings caused by cadmium can be inherited to the offspring, and this transgenerational inheritance effect may be related to the epigenetic regulation of histone methylation. Therefore, the adaptability of offspring should be considered when evaluating the toxicity and environmental risk of cadmium. •Cd exposure caused wing development defects in Drosophila, and could be transmitted in F1-F4 generations when Cd removed.•Expressions of wing development related genes were changed under Cd exposure and could be transmitted to 2 or 3 generations.•Cd exposure changed expressions of H3K4me3, H3K9me3, H3K27me3 and histone methylation related genes in Drosophila.•Expression changes of histone methylation related genes and H3K4me3 could be transmitted to 1 or 2 generations.