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Paternal Contribution (paternal + contribution)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	50%
Life Sciences	50%

Selected Abstracts

Paternal contribution to fetal alcohol syndrome

ADDICTION BIOLOGY, Issue 2 2004
Ernest Abel
Maternal alcohol use during pregnancy is associated with a wide range of adverse outcomes for the child. Many women who drink during pregnancy also have male partners who abuse alcohol. Existing data on paternal effects of alcohol abuse during the preconceptual period and at the time of conception are reviewed. Epidemiological data offer some support for a paternal influence on birth weight, congenital heart defects, and some evidence of mild cognitive impairments. Animal data have demonstrated decreased litter size, increased prevalence of low birth weight fetuses and mixed data on risk of malformations. Increased susceptibility to Pseudomonas bacterial infection has been reported. Cognitive and behavioral findings are the most robust effects. These include learning and memory deficits, hyperactivity, and poor stress tolerance. Multiple causal mechanisms for a paternal effect have been suggested, but none seems satisfactory to explain all findings. Further research is needed on paternal effects in animals and human populations. The results of this research may influence prevention activities. [source]

Multiple paternity in a natural population of a wild tobacco fly, Bactrocera cacuminata (Diptera: Tephritidae), assessed by microsatellite DNA markers

MOLECULAR ECOLOGY, Issue 11 2007
SIMON D. SONG
Abstract Mating frequency has important implications for patterns of sexual selection and sexual conflict and hence for issues such as speciation and the maintenance of genetic diversity. Knowledge of natural mating patterns can also lead to more effective control of pest tephritid species, in which suppression programmes, such as the sterile insect technique (SIT) are employed. Multiple mating by females may compromise the success of SIT. We investigated the level of polyandry and sperm utilization in a Brisbane field population of the tropical fruit fly, Bactrocera cacuminata (Hering), using seven polymorphic microsatellite loci. The offspring of 22 wild-caught gravid females were genotyped to determine the number of males siring each brood and paternity skew, using the programs gerud and scare. Our data showed that 22.7% of females produced offspring sired by at least two males. The mean number of mates per female was 1.72. Paternal contributions of double-sired broods were skewed with the most successful male having sired between 76.9% and 87.5% of the offspring. These results have implications for SIT, because the level of remating we have identified would indicate that wild females could mate with one or more resident fertile males. [source]

Multiple paternity in loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) nests on Melbourne Beach, Florida: a microsatellite analysis

MOLECULAR ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2002
M. K. Moore
Abstract Many aspects of sea turtle biology are difficult to measure in these enigmatic migratory species, and this lack of knowledge continues to hamper conservation efforts. The first study of paternity in a sea turtle species used allozyme analysis to suggest multiple paternity in loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) clutches in Australia. Subsequent studies indicated that the frequency of multiple paternity varies from species to species and perhaps location to location. This study examined fine-scale population structure and paternal contribution to loggerhead clutches on Melbourne Beach, FL, USA using microsatellite markers. Mothers and offspring from 70 nests collected at two locations were analysed using two to four polymorphic microsatellite loci. Fine-scale population differentiation was not evident between the sampled locations, separated by 8 km. Multiple paternity was common in loggerhead nests on Melbourne Beach; 22 of 70 clutches had more than one father, and six had more than two fathers. This is the first time that more than two fathers have been detected for offspring in individual sea turtle nests. Paternal genotypes could not be assigned with confidence in clutches with more than two fathers, leaving the question of male philopatry unanswered. Given the high incidence of multiple paternity, we conclude that males are not a limiting resource for this central Florida nesting aggregate. [source]

Significant paternal contribution to the risk of small for gestational age

BJOG : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS & GYNAECOLOGY, Issue 2 2005
Delphine Jaquet
Objective The aim of this study is to investigate both maternal and paternal contributions in the familial aggregation of small for gestational age. Design Nested case,control study. Setting Metropolitan area of Haguenau, France. Population Data were drawn from a French population-based maternity registry. After selection, 256 cases born either small for gestational age or average for gestational age were included. Methods Controlling for known pregnancy-related risk factors, logistic regression models were used to determine the risk of the child being small for gestational age, given that the mother, father or both were small for gestational age, and to examine interactions between maternal small for gestational age and pregnancy risk factors. Main outcome measures Specifically, we investigate to what extent having either or both parents born small for gestational age increases the risk of small for gestational age in their offspring, after controlling for the established risk factors of small for gestational age and maternal and paternal characteristics. We also explore the extent to which the intergenerational predictors of small for gestational age may modify the effect of current pregnancy-related risk factors. Results The risk of a small for gestational age offspring was 4.7 times greater for mothers and 3.5 times greater for fathers who were small for gestational age, compared with average for gestational age counterparts. Furthermore, the risk of a small for gestational age offspring was 16.3 times greater when both parents were small for gestational age. No significant interactions between maternal small for gestational age and maternal smoking, hypertension or parity were observed. Conclusion These results indicate that small for gestational age in both mother and father significantly influences the risk of their offspring being small for gestational age. While previous research has indicated that the birth outcome of the mother is an important determinant of the birth outcome of her offspring, these data indicate that the birth outcome of the father plays an equally critical role in determining fetal growth, strongly suggesting a genetic component in the familial aggregation of small for gestational age. [source]

Fathers' play with their Down Syndrome children

JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY RESEARCH, Issue 6 2008
S. De Falco
Abstract Background In children with Down Syndrome (DS), as in other groups of special needs children, development depends crucially on the degree to which parents provide appropriate stimulation and effective support. The majority of recent studies investigating interactions between parents and children with DS have been conducted on mothers. Method Through observation of child solitary play, child collaborative play with their father, and father play with their child, the current study focused on paternal contributions to child play in association with the effective quality of father,child interactions. A total of 19 children (M chronological age = 35.32 months, SD = 10.35; M mental age = 19.58, SD = 5.43) with DS and their fathers participated in the study. Two 10-min sessions, of child solitary play and collaborative play with their father, were videorecorded. A coding system for exploratory and symbolic play was applied to both sessions, and the Emotional Availability (EA) Scales were independently applied to the collaborative play session as a measure of the effective quality of the father,child interaction. Results Children showed more symbolic play during collaborative sessions compared with solitary sessions. Bivariate correlations showed positive associations between father play and child exploratory and symbolic play. Cluster analysis identified dyads in low, medium and high EA groups, which differed in terms of each partner's play. Specifically, both fathers and children of high EA dyads were more likely to show more symbolic play and less exploratory play than those with low EA dyads. Conclusions Our findings enrich the theoretical perspective that dyadic interactions based on emotional involvement may lead to enhanced cognitive functioning in children with DS. [source]