Maternal constraint on fetal growth patterns in the rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta): The intergenerational link between mothers and daughters

Abstract

The gestational experience of a mother can influence the intrauterine environment she provides her own offspring, allowing prenatal events to affect pregnancy outcomes across several generations. Using a multigenerational database, we determined the reproductive consequences for rhesus monkeys descended from small-for-date and large-for-date birth weight matrilines. Both the maternal half-brothers and -sisters of large-for-date infants exhibited enhanced fetal growth, but for small-for-date probands, only the maternal half-sisters experienced significant intrauterine growth constraint. In addition, the growth-restricted females were at higher risk of poor reproductive outcomes in adulthood, and they perpetuated the matrilineal birth weight pattern by selectively constraining the fetal development of their daughters. Collectively, these findings suggest a mechanism for the intergenerational persistence of suboptimal pregnancy outcomes.