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父母在他们的饮食中是否有足够的叶酸,不仅会影响孩子的健康,甚至还影响到子孙后代。来自一项小鼠的研究表明叶酸缺乏症会导致它们的子代和孙代畸形。众所周知,在怀孕期间缺乏叶酸——一种合成蛋白所必需的维生素——可能会导致出生缺陷或出生低体重的婴儿,但它的作用机理目前还不清楚。为了研究这个问题,剑桥大学的Erica Watson和同事们培育了MTRR基因(参与叶酸代谢的基因)突变的小鼠。突变的效果类似去除膳食中的叶酸,但更容易控制实验。
Whether parents have enough folate in their diet will not only affect their child’s well-being but may even affect future generations. Studies from one mouse show that folate deficiency causes deformities in their offspring and offspring. It is well-known that lack of folic acid during pregnancy - a vitamin essential for the synthesis of proteins - can cause birth defects or low birth weight babies, but its mechanism of action is unclear. To study this issue, Erica Watson and colleagues at the University of Cambridge foster mice with mutations in the MTRR gene, a gene involved in folic acid metabolism. The effect of the mutation resembles the folic acid in the diet, but it is easier to control the experiment.