MITOCHONDRIA ARE ESSENTIAL FOR GENERATING ENERGY FOR CELLULAR, TISSUE, AND WHOLE ANIMAL FUNCTIONS. WHEN MITOCHONDRIAL FUNCTION IS IMPAIRED, THIS CAN LIMIT GROWTH AND SLOW METABOLISM. THE MATERNAL ENVIRONMENT DURING GESTATION PREPARES THE OFFSPRING FOR POST-NATAL GROWTH, AND CHANGES IN THE PRE-NATAL ENVIRONMENT CAN HAVE LONG LASTING EFFECTS ON THE OFFSPRING, BOTH POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE. POOR MATERNAL NUTRITION DURING GESTATION CAN NEGATIVELY IMPACT THE NUMBER AND FUNCTION OF MITOCHONDRIA, PARTICULARLY IN METABOLICALLY ACTIVE TISSUES LIKE MUSCLE AND LIVER THAT ARE CRITICAL FOR POST-NATAL GROWTH. OUR GOAL IS TO UNDERSTAND HOW POOR MATERNAL NUTRITION DURING GESTATION IMPACTS MITOCHONDRIAL FUNCTION IN OFFSPRING.TO ADDRESS THIS GOAL, WE WILL USE A WELL-ESTABLISHED MODEL OF POOR MATERNAL NUTRITION IN SHEEP TO ASSESS THE ABILITY OF LIVER AND MUSCLE MITOCHONDRIA TO PRODUCE ATP IN THE OFFSPRING OF POORLY NOURISHED EWES. FURTHER, WE WILL IDENTIFY METABOLITES AND OTHER SUBSTRATES THAT MAY ACT AS SIGNALS INDICATING ALTERED MITOCHONDRIAL FUNCTION. FINALLY, WE WILL ASSESS POTENTIAL CHANGES IN MITOCHONDRIAL DNA THAT MAY ALTER MITOCHONDRIAL DNA EXPRESSION, THEREBY AFFECTING MITOCHONDRIAL FUNCTION. INSIGHTS INTO THESE POTENTIAL MECHANISMS OF MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION AS A RESULT OF POOR MATERNAL NUTRITION DURING GESTATION WILL ALLOW US TO DEVELOP TARGETED INTERVENTIONS TO MITIGATE THESE EFFECTS IN THE POST-NATAL ANIMAL, RESULTING IN MORE EFFICIENT GROWTH.

University Of Connecticut, Storrs CT

Investigators