Maternal Drinking Alters Child's DNA

Maternal consumption of alcohol during pregnancy causes genetic changes in offspring that persist into adulthood, according to a study in mice (PLoS Genet., DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1000811). Suyinn Chong of Queensland Institute of Medical Research, in Herston, Australia, and colleagues report that moderate drinking before conception or during the first half of pregnancy increases the likelihood of hypermethylation of Agouti viable yellow, a gene that affects coat color in mice. This epigenetic modification silences the gene, thereby increasing the number of offspring that ultimately grow agouti-colored coats rather than yellow or mottled coats. “This demonstrates, for the first time, that ethanol can affect adult phenotype by altering the epigenotype of the early embryo,” the researchers note. Mice born to alcohol-consuming mothers also display the postnatal growth retardation and changes in skull shape and size that are seen in humans who suffer from fetal alcohol syndrome. This finding suggests that moderate alcohol exposure in the womb can induce changes in expression of genes other than the coat color gene.