Alcohol consumption during pregnancy can harm the developing foetus and the results can be seen even until adulthood. This finding was revealed by a group of researchers at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR).

 

According to the researchers, the alcohol test conducted on mice proves that consuming alcohol during pregnancy could result in epigenetic changes which control physical traits. It is a known fact that consuming alcohol during pregnancy has ill effects on the foetus but recently researchers from Sydney have come out with the mechanism behind it.

 

"We are looking at the mechanisms that control our genes - known as epigenetics... in other words whether they are switched on or off." said Suyinn Chong of the Epigenetics Lab, Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR).

 

"These epigenetic changes determine whether a gene is converted into protein, which ultimately controls physical traits," said Chong.  

 

"Using mice as a model, we have shown for the first time that alcohol consumed during the first trimester affects the developing foetus by altering the epigenetic information," he added.

The physical traits of an individual are governed by the conversion of genes into protein and epigenetic just control that. Consumption of alcohol during the 1^st three months can alter epigenetic information.

 

The researchers at QIMR used specific mice, whose epigenetic changes were reflected by their fur colour. Half the mice drank moderate amounts of alcohol during pregnancy, while the other half consumed water. The mice that consumed alcohol had twice as many dark-furred offspring when compared to mice that were not given alcohol. The change in coat colour indicated the changed epigenetic information of the coat colour gene.

Also some of the offspring that were exposed to alcohol showed subtle skull malformations, similar to those seen in human fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) - a condition that results in growth restriction, intellectual disabilities and changes in the shape and size of the skull as a result of high levels of alcohol consumption during pregnancy.

 

The recent finding has been published in the science journal ‘PLoS Genetics’.