There’s an old saying, often used by parents trying to get their kids to eat their vegetables, that “we are what we eat.” Now there’s new evidence to back up that adage, and possibly reveals a link between genetics and diet.
Researchers at the University of Oxford in the Department of Plant Sciences have new evidence that suggests that food and genetics are linked. In their research, they noticed that the diets of organisms (parasites in this experiment) can affect the DNA sequences in their genes. The study was published in the journal Genome Biology and focuses on two different groups of parasites to determine whether differences in their DNA sequences could be attributed to the composition of their diet.
Study co-author Dr. Steven Kelly, explained: “Organisms construct their DNA using building blocks they get from food. Our hypothesis was that the composition of this food could alter an organism's DNA. For example, could a vegetarian panda have predictable genetic differences from a meat-eating polar bear?”
The Study
To test their hypothesis about the link between diet and genetics, the researchers chose two simple kinds of parasites for a model, which were similar originally but evolved to infect different hosts and eat vastly different diets. They found that nitrogen levels in the parasites’ diets had a profound effect on their DNA.
By studying these two parasites, Kinetoplastida and Mollicutes, they found results that led them to a relationship between cellular metabolism and evolution. At least in these simple parasites, DNA sequences can be influenced by different diets. The team was even able to predict parasitic diets by analyzing their genes’ DNA sequences.
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| If our food influences our genetics, will we make food choices differently? Source: cdc.gov |
What Does It Mean?
Emily Seward, a doctoral candidate, who was involved in the study connecting genetics and food, said: “It has been unclear why very closely related organisms can look so different in their genetic makeup. By bringing together two fundamental aspects of biology -- metabolism and genetics -- we have advanced our understanding of this area.”
While this study concentrates on parasites, which are relatively simple organisms, this could have a wider-reaching impact. If diet can influence genetics in animals or humans, it is imperative to discover how and what we can do about it.
The researchers in this study and other biologists worldwide will continue to expand this research to more complex organisms to determine the impact of this study’s results.
