Abstract
To probe into the changes induced by infrasonic exposure on the methylation status of the genome in testes and underlying mechanisms, we inspected the percentage of unmethylated CpG sites (an index for DNA methylation level) and DNA methyltransferase activity in testes of SD rats exposed to infrasound of 8Hz at 90dB or 130dB for 1, 7, 14 and 21 days (2h/d). Compared to control groups at the same time points, significantly decreased DNA methylation level and methyltransferase activity were observed in all but experimental groups of ld and 21d at 90dB (p<0.05). Compared to 90dB groups at the same time points, DNA methylation level and DNA methyltransferase activity at 130dB decreased more significantly (p<0.05). The patterns of dynamic changes on the percentage of unmethylated CpG sites and methyltransferase activity at 130dB were different from those at 90dB. The results indicated that infrasonic exposure induced epigenetic changes in testes of rats, which depended on parameters of infrasonic exposure.