Epigenetic effects of environmental thyroid disruption

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Our parents' lifestyle and experiences can change our own characteristics and even those of our children and grandchildren. We inherit our DNA from previous generations, but it takes many generations before adaptive changes to the nucleotide sequence of DNA manifest at the organism level. A much more rapid transfer of environmental information to shape biological responses occurs by additions of small chemical groups to DNA (e.g., addition of methyl groups by DNA methyltransferase enzymes). Conditions experienced by parents or during early development can thereby alter the characteristics (phenotype) of individuals. These "epigenetic" modifications can be beneficial because parents can "prepare" their offspring for particular conditions, and individuals can respond rapidly to environmental changes. However, therein also lies danger. What if the environmental information is detrimental?Human activity now introduces detrimental cues into the environment. Disturbances ranging from chemical pollution to altered light regimes and climate change can disrupt epigenetic programming. The epigenetic effects of endocrine (hormone) disrupting compounds (EDCs) have just been named one of the most important emerging global conservation threats. These novel human impacts are now permanent components of global and domestic natural systems - they are here to stay. They are particularly present in the Canadian Great Lakes and Arctic regions, which already represent hotspots for climate change. There is therefore a great urgency to understand how they act, and to predict what their consequences will be. The GOAL of the proposed research is to take up this challenge and determine how anthropogenic disturbances interact with natural drivers to impact epigenetic signalling and thereby animal function.