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Vertebrate reproductive science and technology
REVIEW (Open Access)

Maternal nutrition and developmental programming of offspring

Lawrence P. Reynolds A * , Wellison J. S. Diniz B , Matthew S. Crouse C , Joel S. Caton A , Carl R. Dahlen A , Pawel P. Borowicz A and Alison K. Ward A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Center for Nutrition and Pregnancy, and Department of Animal Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58108-6050, USA.

B Department of Animal Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36832, USA.

C Nutrition, Growth, and Physiology Research Unit, USDA/Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Meat Animal Research Center, Clay Center, NE 68933-0166, USA.

* Correspondence to: larry.reynolds@ndsu.edu

Reproduction, Fertility and Development 35(2) 19-26 https://doi.org/10.1071/RD22234
Published online: 1 November 2022

© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of the IETS. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Developmental programming is the concept that ‘stressors’ during development (i.e. pregnancy, the perinatal period and infancy) can cause long-term changes in gene expression, leading to altered organ structure and function. Such long-term changes are associated with an increased risk of a host of chronic pathologies, or non-communicable diseases including abnormal growth and body composition, behavioural or cognitive dysfunction, metabolic abnormalities, and cardiovascular, gastro-intestinal, immune, musculoskeletal and reproductive dysfunction. Maternal nutrition during the periconceptual period, pregnancy and postnatally can have profound influences on the developmental program. Animal models, including domestic livestock species, have been important for defining the mechanisms and consequences of developmental programming. One of the important observations is that maternal nutritional status and other maternal stressors (e.g. environmental temperature, high altitude, maternal age and breed, multiple fetuses, etc.) early in pregnancy and even periconceptually can affect not only embryonic/fetal development but also placental development. Indeed, altered placental function may underlie the effects of many maternal stressors on fetal growth and development. We suggest that future directions should focus on the consequences of developmental programming during the offspring’s life course and for subsequent generations. Other important future directions include evaluating interventions, such as strategic dietary supplementation, and also determining how we can take advantage of the positive, adaptive aspects of developmental programming.

Keywords: developmental programming, fetal programming, gene expression, maternal nutrition, organ function, organ structure, periconceptual, placental programming.


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