The Environmental Factors and Epigenetics of Gametogenesis in Puberty

Abstract

Recent findings have demonstrated that environmental factors, including chemicals, pollutants, and nutrition, have an effect on human health. Epigenetic gene regulation can be influenced by a variety of environmental factors, and their aberrations including DNA methylation in imprinted and developmental genes, histone tail modifications, and short noncoding RNAs have been implicated in various human diseases. The human epigenome is susceptible to environmentally induced changes and pollutants. Many studies have showed that epigenetic modifications have a role in gametogenesis. The effects of environmental factors such as occupational and environmental exposures and exposures resulting from lifestyle choices or medical treatments can lead to epigenetic alterations in the onset of puberty and gametogenesis. Both female and male gamete cells undergo developmental epigenetic alterations during gametogenesis. Spermatogenesis starts at puberty and is a continuous process throughout the entire life of males. Oogenesis begins before birth during fetal stage, and this process is arrested in the prophase of meiosis I until puberty. Although alterations in the genomic DNA are irreversible, epigenetic modifications are dynamic and potentially reversible and encourage development of therapies and dietary habits to reverse the deleterious effects of epigenetic aberrations. In this chapter, we will discuss and review the potential contribution of various epigenetic mechanisms to the regulation of gametogenesis and puberty. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016.