Nutritional programming of reproductive performance
To ensure proper reproductive performance, each individual must organize its energy stores in ways that allow healthy development of next generations. Parental investment is one of the environmental conditions that can directly influence the offspring performance. Indeed, nutrition in mammals is requisite for obtaining reproductive capacity.
We are applying a combination of advanced molecular approaches and in vivo and in vitro assays to understand how transient perturbations in the energy availability during the infancy generate long-term consequences on reproductive performance through the generations.