Epigenetics, Nutrition, and Reproduction: Short‐ and Long‐Term Consequences

Abstract

Human reproduction involves the generation of male and female germ cells, their combination during fertilization, and the maintenance of the resulting conceptus through to birth. Epigenetic regulation is fundamental to all of these processes and there is growing evidence that nutritional exposures at key stages in reproduction can influence epigenetics, with potentially important consequences for both human reproduction and the long-term health of the offspring.