The mother mouse's diet during pregnancy influences the facial features of the unborn baby: for example, a diet rich in proteins leads to larger nasal cavities and lower jaw bones. The discovery comes from the study published in the journal Nature Communications and led by the Karolinska University of Stockholm, which provides new information on how environmental factors, such as what the mother eats, can influence the development of the fetus. A similar mechanism, also observed in zebrafish, could come into play in humans, but further research will be needed to confirm it.
Facial features are formed through a complex process that occurs in the womb. When anomalies occur in this process, congenital defects can occur, such as cleft palate, a malformation of the palate also known as 'hare lip', or the too early union of the bones of the skull. It is known that these defects have both genetic and environmental causes, but little information is available on the processes that shape the more subtle facial features: for example, it is unclear why identical twins, who share the same genetic and environmental influences, still show slight differences in the face.
To shed light on the question, researchers led by Meng Xie searched for DNA regions that regulate gene expression during facial development in human embryos. They thus found several that are associated with genes that also respond to the type of diet: the activation of these genes in mouse and zebrafish embryos leads to larger facial features and thicker nasal cartilage, while blocking this mechanism leads to more elongated snouts in both animals. For mother mice, in particular, a protein-rich diet alters the activation of this genetic pathway.
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