This communication between food and genes may affect you Health, physiology, longevity.. The idea that food delivers an important message to the animal’s genome is Nutritional genomics.. This is an area that is still in its infancy, and many questions remain a mystery.But already, how much our researchers have learned Food ingredients affect the genome..
I Molecular biologist Who Study interactions In food, gene When brain In an effort to better understand how food messages affect our biology. Scientists’ efforts to decipher this transmission of information could one day lead to a healthier and happier life for all of us. But until then, nutritional genomics has revealed at least one important fact. It means that our relationship with food is much closer than we could have imagined.
Interaction between food and genes
If the idea that food can drive biological processes by interacting with the genome sounds surprising, then you need to look for a honeycomb to find a proven perfect example of how this happens. .. Worker bees work non-stop, are sterile, and live for only a few weeks. The queen bee, sitting deep in the hive, has a longevity of many years and a very strong fertility, giving birth to an entire colony.
Still, worker bees and queen bees are genetically identical organisms.They will be two different life forms The food they eat..Queen bee feast Royal jellyWorker bees eat nectar and pollen. Both foods provide energy, but royal jelly has additional functions. That nutrient can release genetic instructions Create the anatomy and physiology of the queen bee.
So how are foods converted into biological instructions?Remember it Foods are made up of micronutrients.. These include carbohydrates (or sugars), proteins, and fats. Foods also contain micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals.These compounds and their degradation products can be triggered Gene switches present in the genome..
Like a switch that controls the light intensity of your home, a genetic switch determines how much of a particular gene product is produced.For example, royal jelly contains the following compounds: Activate the gene controller It forms the Queen’s organs and maintains her fertility. In humans and mice, by-products of the amino acid methionine, which is abundant in meat and fish, are known to affect genetic dialing. Important for cell growth and division..And Vitamin C plays a role in maintaining our health Protecting the genome from oxidative damageIt also promotes the function of cellular pathways that can repair the genome if it is damaged.
Depending on the type of nutritional information, activated genetic control, and the cells that receive them, the message in the food can be affected. Health, risk of illness, and even longevity.. However, it is important to note that to date, most of these studies have been performed on animal models such as bees.
Interestingly, the ability of nutrients to alter the flow of genetic information can extend across generations. Studies show that in humans and animals, Grandparents’ meal It affects the activity of genetic switches and the risk and mortality of grandchildren’s illness.
Cause and effect
One of the interesting aspects of thinking of food as a form of biological information is to give a new meaning to the concept of the food chain. Indeed, if our bodies are affected by what we eat (up to the molecular level), the food we “eat” can also affect our genome. For example, grain-fed cows have different amounts and types of milk compared to pasture-fed cows. Fatty acids and vitamins C and A .. Therefore, when humans drink these different types of milk, the cells also receive different nutritional messages.
Similarly, the diet of a human mother changes the levels of fatty acids in breast milk and vitamins such as B-6, B-12 and folic acid. This can change the type of nutritional message that reaches the baby’s own genetic switch, but it is unclear at this time whether this will affect the development of the child.
And, perhaps unknown to us, we are also part of this food chain. The food we eat is not only the genetic switches in our cells, Microorganisms that inhabit our intestines, skin and mucous membranes.. One striking example: Gut microbiota degradation of short-chain fatty acids in mice Change the level of serotoninA brain chemistry messenger that regulates mood, anxiety, and depression, among other processes.
Food additives and packaging
Ingredients added to food can also alter the flow of genetic information within cells.Bread and cereal Rich in folic acid To prevent birth defects caused by this nutrient deficiency.However, some scientists assume high levels of folic acid In the absence of other naturally occurring micronutrients Vitamin B-12 and others may probably contribute to the increased incidence of colorectal cancer in Western countries. Genetic pathways that control growth..
This may also apply to the chemicals found in food packaging. Bisphenol A, or BPA, compounds found in plastics, Turn on the gene dial In mammals that are important for development, Growth and fertility.. For example, some researchers suspect that: In both human and animal modelsBPA affects the age of sexual differentiation and reduces fertility by increasing the likelihood that genetic switches will be turned on.
In all of these examples, the genetic information of a food is not only its molecular composition (amino acids, vitamins, etc.), but also national agriculture, environment, economic policy, or they.
Scientists have only recently begun to decipher the message of these genetically modified foods and their role in health and illness. Our researchers still know exactly how nutrients act on genetic switches, what are the rules of their communication, and how the diets of past generations affect their offspring. not. Many of these studies have so far been conducted only in animal models, and much remains unclear as to what food-gene interactions mean to humans.
But what is clear is that unraveling the mysteries of nutritional genomics is likely to empower both current and future societies and generations. DM / ML
This story was first published conversation
Monica Dus is an assistant professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology at the University of Michigan.
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