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Brusch GA, Gavira RSB, Viton R, Dupoué A, Leroux-Coyau M, Meylan S, Le Galliard JF, Lourdais O. Additive effects of temperature and water availability on pregnancy in a viviparous lizard. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020; 223:223/19/jeb228064. [PMID: 33046578 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.228064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2020] [Accepted: 08/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
One of the greatest current threats to biodiversity is climate change. However, understanding of organismal responses to fluctuations in temperature and water availability is currently lacking, especially during fundamental life-history stages such as reproduction. To further explore how temperature and water availability impact maternal physiology and reproductive output, we used the viviparous form of the European common lizard (Zootoca vivipara) in a two-by-two factorial design manipulating both hydric and thermal conditions, for the first time. We collected blood samples and morphological measurements during early pregnancy and post-parturition to investigate how water availability, temperature and a combination of the two influence maternal phenology, morphology, physiology and reproductive output. We observed that dehydration during gestation negatively affects maternal physiological condition (lower mass gain, higher tail reserve mobilization) but has little effect on reproductive output. These effects are mainly additive to temperature regimes, with a proportional increase in maternal costs in warmer environments. Our study demonstrates the importance of considering combined effects of water and temperature when investigating organismal responses to climate changes, especially during periods crucial for species survival such as reproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- George A Brusch
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), 79360 Villiers en Bois, France .,Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74074, USA
| | - Rodrigo S B Gavira
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), 79360 Villiers en Bois, France
| | - Robin Viton
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), 79360 Villiers en Bois, France
| | - Andréaz Dupoué
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, IRD, INRA, Institut d'écologie et des sciences de l'environnement (IEES), 4 Place Jussieu, 75252 Paris Cedex 5, France
| | - Mathieu Leroux-Coyau
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, IRD, INRA, Institut d'écologie et des sciences de l'environnement (IEES), 4 Place Jussieu, 75252 Paris Cedex 5, France
| | - Sandrine Meylan
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, IRD, INRA, Institut d'écologie et des sciences de l'environnement (IEES), 4 Place Jussieu, 75252 Paris Cedex 5, France
| | - Jean-François Le Galliard
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, IRD, INRA, Institut d'écologie et des sciences de l'environnement (IEES), 4 Place Jussieu, 75252 Paris Cedex 5, France.,Ecole normale supérieure, PSL University, Département de biologie, CNRS, UMS 3194, Centre de recherche en écologie expérimentale et prédictive (CEREEP-Ecotron IleDeFrance), 11 chemin de Busseau, 77140 Saint-Pierre-lès-Nemours, France
| | - Olivier Lourdais
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), 79360 Villiers en Bois, France.,School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
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Brusch GA, Heulin B, DeNardo DF. Dehydration during egg production alters egg composition and yolk immune function. Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol 2018; 227:68-74. [PMID: 30300746 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2018.10.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2018] [Accepted: 10/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Parent-offspring conflicts occur when resources are limited for allocation, and, historically, energy has been the primary currency of focus when examining these trade-offs. Water is a fundamental resource that has received far less consideration for parent-offspring conflicts. Previous research suggests that, when water is limited, reproductive females are compromised in favor of developing embryos. However, these studies limited their assessments to standard metrics such as clutch size and mass. We tested the hypothesis that the mother-offspring conflict over limited water resources leads to finer scale morphological and physiological impacts on the eggs in Children's pythons (Antaresia childreni). We predicted that water deprivation during gravidity alters female investment into her eggs, impacting egg water content and shell development. Additionally, we predicted that the yolk in these dehydrated eggs would have enhanced immune performance metrics, as has been documented in dehydrated adults. We found that eggs from water-deprived females were dehydrated as indicated by reduced percent water and greater yolk osmolality compared to eggs from females that received ad libitum water. We also found that eggs from dehydrated mothers had thinner shells and higher water loss rates. The impacts were not entirely negative as dehydrated eggs had higher antimicrobial capabilities. Also, thinner and more permeability eggshells might allow for elevated rates of rehydration from nest substrate. Overall, by examining an array of egg traits, we demonstrated that dehydration of gravid females impacts the eggs, not just the females as previously reported. As a result, the mother-offspring conflicts are indeed two-sided.
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Affiliation(s)
- George A Brusch
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, 427 East Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA.
| | - Benoit Heulin
- Paimpont Biological Station, CNRS UMR6553, University of Rennes 1, 35380 Paimpont, France
| | - Dale F DeNardo
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, 427 East Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
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Kordonowy L, MacManes M. Characterizing the reproductive transcriptomic correlates of acute dehydration in males in the desert-adapted rodent, Peromyscus eremicus. BMC Genomics 2017; 18:473. [PMID: 28645248 PMCID: PMC5481918 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-017-3840-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2017] [Accepted: 06/02/2017] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The understanding of genomic and physiological mechanisms related to how organisms living in extreme environments survive and reproduce is an outstanding question facing evolutionary and organismal biologists. One interesting example of adaptation is related to the survival of mammals in deserts, where extreme water limitation is common. Research on desert rodent adaptations has focused predominantly on adaptations related to surviving dehydration, while potential reproductive physiology adaptations for acute and chronic dehydration have been relatively neglected. This study aims to explore the reproductive consequences of acute dehydration by utilizing RNAseq data in the desert-specialized cactus mouse (Peromyscus eremicus). RESULTS We exposed 22 male cactus mice to either acute dehydration or control (fully hydrated) treatment conditions, quasimapped testes-derived reads to a cactus mouse testes transcriptome, and then evaluated patterns of differential transcript and gene expression. Following statistical evaluation with multiple analytical pipelines, nine genes were consistently differentially expressed between the hydrated and dehydrated mice. We hypothesized that male cactus mice would exhibit minimal reproductive responses to dehydration; therefore, this low number of differentially expressed genes between treatments aligns with current perceptions of this species' extreme desert specialization. However, these differentially expressed genes include Insulin-like 3 (Insl3), a regulator of male fertility and testes descent, as well as the solute carriers Slc45a3 and Slc38a5, which are membrane transport proteins that may facilitate osmoregulation. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that in male cactus mice, acute dehydration may be linked to reproductive modulation via Insl3, but not through gene expression differences in the subset of other a priori tested reproductive hormones. Although water availability is a reproductive cue in desert-rodents exposed to chronic drought, potential reproductive modification via Insl3 in response to acute water-limitation is a result which is unexpected in an animal capable of surviving and successfully reproducing year-round without available external water sources. Indeed, this work highlights the critical need for integrative research that examines every facet of organismal adaptation, particularly in light of global climate change, which is predicted, amongst other things, to increase climate variability, thereby exposing desert animals more frequently to the acute drought conditions explored here.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren Kordonowy
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Biomedical Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Rudman Hall (MCBS), 46 College Road, Durham, 03824 NH USA
| | - Matthew MacManes
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Biomedical Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Rudman Hall (MCBS), 46 College Road, Durham, 03824 NH USA
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Donald JA, Hamid NKA, McLeod JL. The role of leptin and ghrelin in appetite regulation in the Australian Spinifex hopping mouse, Notomys alexis, during long-term water deprivation. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2017; 244:201-208. [PMID: 27102941 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2016.04.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2015] [Revised: 04/06/2016] [Accepted: 04/16/2016] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Water deprivation of the Spinifex hopping mouse, Notomys alexis, induced a biphasic pattern of food intake with an initial hypophagia that was followed by an increased, and then sustained food intake. The mice lost approximately 20% of their body mass and there was a loss of white adipose tissue. Stomach ghrelin mRNA was significantly higher at day 2 of water deprivation but then returned to the same levels as water-replete (day 0) mice for the duration of the experiment. Plasma ghrelin was unaffected by water deprivation except at day 10 where it was significantly increased. Plasma leptin levels decreased at day 2 and day 5 of water deprivation, and then increased significantly by the end of the water deprivation period. Water deprivation caused a significant decrease in skeletal muscle leptin mRNA expression at days 2 and 5, but then it returned to day 0 levels by day 29. In the hypothalamus, water deprivation caused a significant up-regulation in both ghrelin and neuropeptide Y mRNA expression, respectively. In contrast, hypothalamic GHSR1a mRNA expression was significantly down-regulated. A significant increase in LepRb mRNA expression was observed at days 17 and 29 of water deprivation. This study demonstrated that the sustained food intake in N. alexis during water deprivation was uncoupled from peripheral appetite-regulating signals, and that the hypothalamus appears to play an important role in regulating food intake; this may contribute to the maintenance of fluid balance in the absence of free water.
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Affiliation(s)
- John A Donald
- Deakin University, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environmental, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3216, Australia.
| | - Noor Khalidah Abdul Hamid
- Deakin University, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environmental, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3216, Australia; Universiti Sains Malaysia, School of Biological Sciences, Penang, Malaysia
| | - Janet L McLeod
- Deakin University, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3216, Australia
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Schoepf I, Schradin C. Arginine vasopressin plasma levels change seasonally in African striped mice but do not differ between alternative reproductive tactics. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2014; 204:43-8. [PMID: 24842715 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2014.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2014] [Revised: 04/30/2014] [Accepted: 05/02/2014] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Arginine vasopressin (AVP) is an important hormone for osmoregulation, while as a neuropeptide in the brain it plays an important role in the regulation of social behaviors. Dry habitats are often the home of obligately sociable species such as meerkats and Damaraland mole-rats, leading to the hypothesis that high plasma AVP levels needed for osmoregulation might be associated with the regulation of social behavior. We tested this in a facultative sociable species, the African striped mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio). During the moist breeding season, both solitary- and group-living reproductive tactics occur in this species, which is obligatory sociable in the dry season. We collected 196 plasma samples from striped mice following different reproductive tactics both during the moist and the dry season. Solitary mice did not have lower AVP levels than sociable mice, rejecting the hypothesis that peripheral AVP is involved in the regulation of alternative reproductive tactics. However, we found significantly higher AVP levels during the dry season, with AVP levels correlated with the abundance of food plants, the main source of water for striped mice. Plasma AVP levels were not correlated with testosterone or corticosterone levels. Our study underlines the important role that AVP plays in osmoregulation, particularly for a free ranging mammal living under harsh arid conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivana Schoepf
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland; School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Carsten Schradin
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland; School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Université de Strasbourg, IPHC-DEPE, 23 rue Becquerel, 67087 Strasbourg, France; CNRS, UMR7178, 67087 Strasbourg, France.
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Bukovetzky E, Haim A. A comparative study of reproductive and metabolic responses to administration of exogenous melatonin and aldosterone in xeric and mesic spiny mice populations. Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol 2014; 173C:28-34. [PMID: 24674819 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2014.03.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2013] [Revised: 03/01/2014] [Accepted: 03/16/2014] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
A comparative study of reproduction revealed differences between desert-adapted Acomys russatus and Mediterranean Acomys cahirinus populations with respect to the environmental cues used for reproductive activity. Long day (LD) conditions were noted as initial reproductive cue for both populations. This research is a follow-up affects comparative endocrine and metabolic study in regards to reproduction where LD-acclimated mice were treated with, exogenous aldosterone (ALDO) and melatonin (MLT). Only the reproductive system of A. russatus females was significantly affected by both hormones. In A. cahirinus females, MLT decreased leptin levels, while in A. russatus, a treatment with both hormones increased leptin levels. In A. russatus males, MLT affects both reproductive and metabolic functions. However, in A. cahirinus males, ALDO and MLT treatments caused an increase in leptin levels, and a decrease in free fatty acid (FFA) levels, respectively. Correlations between leptin and FFA in general were affected by both MLT and ALDO treatments in A. russatus males and A. cahirinus females. Our results support the general idea, that although the reproductive system of A. russatus responded to an osmotic stress, in our case expressed by ALDO treatment, which can be considered as an ultimate signal, where, photoperiod changes are an initial signal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Bukovetzky
- Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa 31905, Israel.
| | - Abraham Haim
- Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa 31905, Israel; The Israeli Center for Interdisciplinary Studies in Chronobiology, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa 31905, Israel.
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Ben-Zaken I, Haim A, Zubidat AE. Long-day photoperiod interacts with vasopressin and food restriction to modulate reproductive status, and vasopressin receptor expression of male Golden spiny mice. J Exp Biol 2013; 216:3495-503. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.089607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Summary
We tested the effects of photoperiod, water and food availability on body-mass, reproductive status, and vasopressin mRNA receptor 1a (Avpr1a) expression in males of desert-adapted golden spiny mice, Acomys russatus. In experiment 1, Males were acclimated to short-day (SD; 16D:8L) or long-day (LD; 8D:16L) with either saline (control) or vasopressin treatment for three weeks. The results of this experiment revealed that under control conditions, SD-mice increased body-mass by ~5% while LD-mice decreased it by ~4%. SD had no effect on reproductive status and leptin levels, whereas LD-males increased testes mass and serum testosterone, but had no effect on leptin levels. Vasopressin administration decreased LD-induced reproductive enhancement. Since no consistent effect of SD treatment was found on reproductive status, experiment 2 was carried out only on LD-acclimated males kept under 75% food restriction from ad libitum, with saline or leptin treatment. Body-mass, testes mass, serum testosterone, leptin concentrations, and Avpr1a mRNA expression, were measured. Food restriction remarkably decreased body-mass with more potent effect in leptin-treated males showing enhanced reproductive status and significant increase in serum leptin compared with controls. Avpr1a expression was significantly up-regulated in LD, vasopressin, and food restricted males, with higher hypothalamic levels compared with testes. We conclude that in A. russatus LD-photoperiod interacts with water and food availability to advance reproductive responses. Avpr1a is suggested to integrate nutritional and osmotic signals to optimize reproduction by modulating reproductive and energetic neuroendocrine axes at the central level. The interaction between photoperiod and other environmental cues is of an adaptive value to desert-adapted small rodents for timing reproduction in unpredicted ecosystems as extreme deserts.
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