Khdc3 Regulates Metabolism Across Generations in a DNA-Independent Manner

Abstract

Genetic variants can alter the profile of heritable molecules such as small RNAs in sperm and oocytes, and in this manner ancestral genetic variants can have a significant effect on offspring phenotypes even if they are not inherited. Here we show that wild type female mice descended from ancestors with a mutation in the mammalian germ cell gene Khdc3 have hepatic metabolic defects that persist over multiple generations. We find that genetically wild type females descended from Khdc3 mutants have transcriptional dysregulation of critical hepatic metabolic genes, which persist over multiple generations and pass through both female and male lineages. This was associated with dysregulation of hepatically-metabolized molecules in the blood of these wild type mice with mutational ancestry. The oocytes of Khdc3-null females, as well as their wild type descendants, had dysregulation of multiple small RNAs, suggesting that these epigenetic changes in the gametes transmit the phenotype between generations. Furthermore, injection of serum from wild type mice with ancestral history of Khdc3 mutation into wild type females is sufficient to cause hepatic transcriptional dysregulation in their offspring. Our results demonstrate that ancestral mutation in Khdc3 can produce transgenerational inherited phenotypes, potentially indefinitely.