Do plant secondary compounds induce epigenetic changes that confer resistance or susceptibility to toxicosis in animals?

Abstract

Epigenetics is the study of inherited changes in phenotype, or gene expression, caused by mechanisms other than changes in the underlying DNA sequence. While cellular alterations such as DNA methylation may remain for multiple generations, the underlying DNA sequence of the organism does not change. Rather, non-genetic factors cause the organism's genes to be expressed differently. In essence, the epigenome is a layer of biological reactions that controls whether or not genes will be expressed. For example, rodents given dietary supplements show epigenetic changes that affect expression of genes which alter their fur colour, weight, and propensity to develop cancer. In human medicine, epigenetic alterations are clearly implicated in the development of cancer, cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure. In this paper we will review possible epigenetic changes, and their interactions with in utero and early life experiences. We also discuss how epigenetic alterations may interact with animals' consumption of plant secondary compounds by altering critical physiological defense mechanisms in the liver and other tissues.