Paternal microbiome perturbations impact offspring fitness

Abstract The gut microbiota operates at the interface of host–environment interactions to influence human homoeostasis and metabolic networks 1–4 . Environmental factors that unbalance gut microbial ecosystems can therefore shape physiological and disease-associated responses across somatic tissues 5–9 . However, the systemic impact of the gut microbiome on the germline—and consequently on the F 1 offspring it gives rise to—is unexplored 10 . Here we show that the gut microbiota act as a key interface between paternal preconception environment and intergenerational health in mice. Perturbations to the gut microbiota of prospective fathers increase the probability of their offspring presenting with low birth…