Abstract

Many findings support that metabolic changes associated with environmental factors can be transmitted from father to offspring. The molecular mechanisms underlying the intergenerational transmission of metabolic changes remain to be fully explored. The acquired metabolic disorders in offspring may be partially explained by some potential epigenetic information carriers such as DNA methylation, histone modification and small non-coding RNAs. Recent evidences show that sperm tRNA-derived small RNAs (tsRNAs) as a type of paternal epigenetic information carrier may mediate intergenerational inheritance. In this review, we provide current knowledge of father's influence on metabolic disorders in subsequent generations, and discuss the roles of sperm tsRNAs and their modifications in paternal epigenetic information transmission.