Stress and the germline

The germline is protected, to a large extent, from environmental impacts by the blood-testis-barrier. However, it also relies on soma-germline endocrine hormone signaling for proper germ cell development and function. A lot of recent work has shown that chronic and acute environmental challenges, such as dietary changes or chronic stressors, can elicit phenotypes in the offspring. However, little is known how mechanistically the epigenetic makeup of germ cells can be altered and propagated to the offspring to influence offspring gene regulation and ultimately behavioral phenotype.

Therefore, we are interested in neuroendocrine signaling, and in mechanisms underlying chromatin-remodeling during spermatogenesis (SBFI funded ERC starting grant 2021). Our work involves the use of various low-input and bulk omic-sequencing approaches in combination with innovative CrispR and PROTAC tools in cellular models, rodent sperm, the early embryo and adult animals. We aim at tracking signal propagation from soma to germline, the early embryo and the resulting offspring to understand environmentally caused disease risk.