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Reda GK, Ndunguru SF, Csernus B, Lugata JK, Knop R, Szabó C, Czeglédi L, Lendvai ÁZ. Sex-specific effects of dietary restriction on physiological variables in Japanese quails. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11405. [PMID: 38799393 PMCID: PMC11116846 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2023] [Revised: 04/23/2024] [Accepted: 04/29/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Nutritional limitation is a common phenomenon in nature that leads to trade-offs among processes competing for limited resources. These trade-offs are mediated by changes in physiological traits such as growth factors and circulating lipids. However, studies addressing the sex-specific effect of nutritional deficiency on these physiological variables are limited in birds. We used dietary restriction to mimic the depletion of resources to various degrees and investigated sex-specific effects on circulating levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and triglycerides in Japanese quails (Coturnix japonica) subjected to ad libitum, 20%, 30% or 40% restriction of their daily requirement, for 2 weeks. We also explored the association of both physiological variables with body mass and egg production. While dietary restriction showed no effects on circulating IGF-1, this hormone exhibited a marked sexual difference, with females having 64.7% higher IGF-1 levels than males. Dietary restriction significantly reduced plasma triglyceride levels in both sexes. Females showed more than six-fold higher triglyceride levels than males. Triglyceride levels were positively associated with body mass in females while showed not association in males. Overall, our findings revealed sex-specific expression of physiological variables under dietary restriction conditions, which coincide with body size.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gebrehaweria K. Reda
- Department of Animal Science, Institute of Animal Science, Biotechnology and Nature Conservation, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental ManagementUniversity of DebrecenDebrecenHungary
- Doctoral School of Animal ScienceUniversity of DebrecenDebrecenHungary
- Department of Evolutionary Zoology and Human Biology, Faculty of Life ScienceUniversity of DebrecenDebrecenHungary
| | - Sawadi F. Ndunguru
- Department of Animal Science, Institute of Animal Science, Biotechnology and Nature Conservation, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental ManagementUniversity of DebrecenDebrecenHungary
- Doctoral School of Animal ScienceUniversity of DebrecenDebrecenHungary
- Department of Evolutionary Zoology and Human Biology, Faculty of Life ScienceUniversity of DebrecenDebrecenHungary
| | - Brigitta Csernus
- Department of Evolutionary Zoology and Human Biology, Faculty of Life ScienceUniversity of DebrecenDebrecenHungary
| | - James K. Lugata
- Doctoral School of Animal ScienceUniversity of DebrecenDebrecenHungary
- Department of Animal Nutrition and Physiology, Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences and Environmental ManagementUniversity of DebrecenDebrecenHungary
| | - Renáta Knop
- Department of Animal Science, Institute of Animal Science, Biotechnology and Nature Conservation, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental ManagementUniversity of DebrecenDebrecenHungary
| | - Csaba Szabó
- Department of Animal Nutrition and Physiology, Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences and Environmental ManagementUniversity of DebrecenDebrecenHungary
| | - Levente Czeglédi
- Department of Animal Science, Institute of Animal Science, Biotechnology and Nature Conservation, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental ManagementUniversity of DebrecenDebrecenHungary
| | - Ádám Z. Lendvai
- Department of Evolutionary Zoology and Human Biology, Faculty of Life ScienceUniversity of DebrecenDebrecenHungary
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Conrad H, Pollock NB, John‐Alder H. Chigger mite ( Eutrombicula alfreddugesi) ectoparasitism does not contribute to sex differences in growth rate in eastern fence lizards ( Sceloporus undulatus). Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10590. [PMID: 37829181 PMCID: PMC10565727 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2023] [Revised: 09/15/2023] [Accepted: 09/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Parasitism is nearly ubiquitous in animals and is frequently associated with fitness costs in host organisms, including reduced growth, foraging, and reproduction. In many species, males tend to be more heavily parasitized than females and thus may bear greater costs of parasitism. Sceloporus undulatus is a female-larger, sexually size dimorphic lizard species that is heavily parasitized by chigger mites (Eutrombicula alfreddugesi). In particular, the intensity of mite parasitism is higher in male than in female juveniles during the period of time when sex differences in growth rate lead to the development of sexual size dimorphism (SSD). Sex-biased differences in fitness costs of parasitism have been documented in other species. We investigated whether there are growth costs of mite ectoparasitism, at a time coinciding with sex differences in growth rate and the onset of SSD. If there are sex-biased growth costs of parasitism, then this could suggest a contribution to the development of SSD in S. undulatus. We measured growth and mite loads in two cohorts of unmanipulated, field-active yearlings by conducting descriptive mark-recapture studies during the activity seasons of 2016 and 2019. Yearling males had consistently higher mid-summer mite loads and consistently lower growth rates than females. However, we found that growth rate and body condition were independent of mite load in both sexes. Furthermore, growth rates and mite loads were higher in 2019 than in 2016. Our findings suggest that juveniles of S. undulatus are highly tolerant of chigger mites and that any costs imposed by mites may be at the expense of functions other than growth. We conclude that sex-biased mite ectoparasitism does not contribute to sex differences in growth rate and, therefore, does not contribute to the development of SSD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hailey Conrad
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural ResourcesRutgers UniversityNew BrunswickNew JerseyUSA
- Present address:
Department of Biological SciencesVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State UniversityBlacksburgVirginiaUSA
| | - Nicholas B. Pollock
- Graduate Program in Ecology and EvolutionRutgers UniversityNew BrunswickNew JerseyUSA
- Present address:
Department of BiologyUniversity of Texas at ArlingtonArlingtonTexasUSA
| | - Henry John‐Alder
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural ResourcesRutgers UniversityNew BrunswickNew JerseyUSA
- Rutgers Pinelands Field StationRutgers UniversityNew LisbonNew JerseyUSA
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Zhang M, Yang Q, Shi R, Wang J, Zhang Z, Yang Y, Li W, Chen S, Wang N. Effects of long-term sex steroid hormones (estradiol and testosterone)-supplemented feeds on the growth performance of Chinese tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis). FISH PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY 2022; 48:1365-1375. [PMID: 36125598 DOI: 10.1007/s10695-022-01125-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2022] [Accepted: 09/09/2022] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
The phenomenon of sexual size dimorphism (SSD), existing in mammals, birds, reptiles, spiders, amphibians, insects, and fishes, is generally related to feeding efficiency, energy allocation, sex steroids, and somatotropic and reproductive endocrine axes. Recently, positive and negative regulations of sex steroids have been reported on SSD in various species. Chinese tongue soles (Cynoglossus semilaevis) at 4 months were fed with 17β-estradiol (E2) and testosterone (T) supplemented feeds for 8 months to assess the effect of sex steroids on growth traits in different sexes. The potential genetic regulation was examined using several growth-related genes. The results showed that two sex steroid hormones had inhibitory effects on the growth performance of different sexes of C. semilaevis. At the age of 8 months, the expression of insulin-like growth factor 2 gene (igf2), 24-dehydrocholesterol reductase (dhcr24), leptin, and estrogen receptor 2 (esr2) in the liver showed an overall downward trend. The expression of insulin-like growth factor 1 (igf1) was reduced, while thyroid hormone receptor-associated protein 3 (thrap3) expression tended to increase in the gonad after T and E2 treatments. In the brain, somatostatin 1, tandem duplicate 2 (sst1.2) expression increased with the treatment of T and E2 (P < 0.05), while growth hormone-releasing hormone (ghrh) expression decreased. E2 and T had different effects on growth differentiation factor 8 (gdf8) and insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 7 (igfbp7) expression in the muscle. Expression of gdf8 increased in the treated fishes in contrast to the reduction expression of igfbp7. This study provided important clues for understanding the role of sex steroids in flatfish SSD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengqian Zhang
- Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, 106 Nanjing Road, Qingdao, 266071, China
| | - Qian Yang
- Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, 106 Nanjing Road, Qingdao, 266071, China
- College of Fisheries and Life Science, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China
| | - Rui Shi
- Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, 106 Nanjing Road, Qingdao, 266071, China
- College of Fisheries and Life Science, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China
| | - Jialin Wang
- Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, 106 Nanjing Road, Qingdao, 266071, China
- College of Fisheries and Life Science, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China
| | - Ziwei Zhang
- Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, 106 Nanjing Road, Qingdao, 266071, China
- Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
| | - Yingming Yang
- Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, 106 Nanjing Road, Qingdao, 266071, China
- Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
- Shandong Key Laboratory of Marine Fisheries Biotechnology and Genetic Breeding, Qingdao, 266071, China
| | - Wenlong Li
- Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, 106 Nanjing Road, Qingdao, 266071, China
- Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
- Shandong Key Laboratory of Marine Fisheries Biotechnology and Genetic Breeding, Qingdao, 266071, China
| | - Songlin Chen
- Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, 106 Nanjing Road, Qingdao, 266071, China
- Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
- Shandong Key Laboratory of Marine Fisheries Biotechnology and Genetic Breeding, Qingdao, 266071, China
| | - Na Wang
- Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, 106 Nanjing Road, Qingdao, 266071, China.
- Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China.
- Shandong Key Laboratory of Marine Fisheries Biotechnology and Genetic Breeding, Qingdao, 266071, China.
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Meter B, Kratochvíl L, Kubička L, Starostová Z. Development of male-larger sexual size dimorphism in a lizard: IGF1 peak long after sexual maturity overlaps with pronounced growth in males. Front Physiol 2022; 13:917460. [PMID: 36035474 PMCID: PMC9399403 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2022.917460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2022] [Accepted: 07/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Squamate reptiles have been considered to be indeterminate growers for a long time. However, recent studies demonstrate that bone prolongation is stopped in many lizards by the closure of bone growth plates. This shift in the paradigm of lizard growth has important consequences for questions concerning the proximate causes of sexual size dimorphism. The traditional model of highly plastic and indeterminate growth would correspond more to a long-term action of a sex-specific growth regulator. On the other hand, determinate growth would be more consistent with a regulator acting in a sex-specific manner on the activity of bone growth plates operating during the phase when a dimorphism in size develops. We followed the growth of males and females of the male-larger Madagascar ground gecko (Paroedura picta) and monitored the activity of bone growth plates, gonad size, levels of steroids, expression of their receptors (AR, ESR1), and expression of genes from the insulin-like growth factor network (IGF1, IGF2, IGF1R, and IGF2R) in livers. Specifically, we measured gene expression before the onset of dimorphic growth, at the time when males have more active bone growth plates and sexual size dimorphism was clearly visible, and after a period of pronounced growth in both sexes. We found a significant spike in the expression of IGF1 in males around the time when dimorphism develops. This overexpression in males comes long after an increase in circulating testosterone levels and sexual maturation in males, and it might be suppressed by ovarian hormones in females. The results suggest that sexual size dimorphism in male-larger lizards can be caused by a positive effect of high levels of IGF1 on bone growth. The peak in IGF1 resembles the situation during the pubertal growth spurt in humans, but in lizards, it seems to be sex-specific and disconnected from sexual maturation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brandon Meter
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czechia
| | - Lukáš Kratochvíl
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czechia
- *Correspondence: Lukáš Kratochvíl,
| | - Lukáš Kubička
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czechia
| | - Zuzana Starostová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czechia
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Cox CL, Logan ML, Nicholson DJ, Chung AK, Rosso AA, McMillan WO, Cox RM. Species-Specific Expression of Growth-Regulatory Genes in 2 Anoles with Divergent Patterns of Sexual Size Dimorphism. Integr Org Biol 2022; 4:obac025. [PMID: 35958165 PMCID: PMC9362763 DOI: 10.1093/iob/obac025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2022] [Revised: 05/20/2022] [Accepted: 06/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Synopsis
Sexual size dimorphism is widespread in nature and often develops through sexual divergence in growth trajectories. In vertebrates, the growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor (GH/IGF) network is an important regulator of growth, and components of this network are often regulated in sex-specific fashion during the development of sexual size dimorphism. However, expression of the GH/IGF network is not well characterized outside of mammalian model systems, and the extent to which species differences in sexual size dimorphism are related to differences in GH/IGF network expression is unclear. To begin bridging this gap, we compared GH/IGF network expression in liver and muscle from 2 lizard congeners, one with extreme male-biased sexual size dimorphism (brown anole, Anolis sagrei), and one that is sexually monomorphic in size (slender anole, A. apletophallus). Specifically, we tested whether GH/IGF network expression in adult slender anoles resembles the highly sex-biased expression observed in adult brown anoles or the relatively unbiased expression observed in juvenile brown anoles. We found that adults of the 2 species differed significantly in the strength of sex-biased expression for several key upstream genes in the GH/IGF network, including insulin-like growth factors 1 and 2. However, species differences in sex-biased expression were minor when comparing adult slender anoles to juvenile brown anoles. Moreover, the multivariate expression of the entire GH/IGF network (as represented by the first two principal components describing network expression) was sex-biased for the liver and muscle of adult brown anoles, but not for either tissue in juvenile brown anoles or adult slender anoles. Our work suggests that species differences in sex-biased expression of genes in the GH/IGF network (particularly in the liver) may contribute to the evolution of species differences in sexual size dimorphism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian L Cox
- Florida International University , 11200 SW 8th St, Miami, FL 33199 , USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute , Amador Causeway, Panama City , Panama
- Georgia Southern University , 1332 Southern Dr, Statesboro, GA 30458 , USA
| | - Michael L Logan
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute , Amador Causeway, Panama City , Panama
- University of Nevada Reno , 1664 N Virginia St, Reno, NV 89557 , USA
| | - Daniel J Nicholson
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute , Amador Causeway, Panama City , Panama
- Queen Mary University , Mile End Rd, Bethnal Green, London E1 4NS , UK
- University of Texas-Arlington , 701 S Nedderman Dr. Arlington, TX 76019 , USA
| | - Albert K Chung
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute , Amador Causeway, Panama City , Panama
- Georgia Southern University , 1332 Southern Dr, Statesboro, GA 30458 , USA
- University of Texas-Arlington , 701 S Nedderman Dr. Arlington, TX 76019 , USA
- Princeton University , Princeton, NJ 08544 , USA
| | - Adam A Rosso
- Georgia Southern University , 1332 Southern Dr, Statesboro, GA 30458 , USA
| | - W Owen McMillan
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute , Amador Causeway, Panama City , Panama
| | - Robert M Cox
- University of Virginia , Charlottesville, VA 22904 , USA
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Kubička L, Tureček A, Kučera T, Kratochvíl L. Sex-specific growth arrest in a lizard. iScience 2022; 25:104041. [PMID: 35345458 PMCID: PMC8957014 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2021] [Revised: 02/16/2022] [Accepted: 03/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
(1) In contrast to mammals and birds, reptiles have been considered as indeterminate growers, whose growth reflects differential allocation of resources to growth versus other energetically demanding processes such as reproduction. (2) We monitored the growth and activity of bone growth plates, hormonal profiles, and reproductive activity in males and females of the male-larger gecko Paroedura picta. We show that growth plates fuse in this species in a sex-specific manner. The more abrupt epiphyseal closure and more pronounced growth deceleration in females coincide with the increased activity of their reproductive organs. (3) We conclude that at least some lizards are determinate growers whose sexual size dimorphism is potentially driven by ovarian hormones. The major difference in growth between endothermic and ectothermic amniotes appears to be in the magnitude of growth before and after the first reproduction, not in the mechanistic processes such as senescence of growth plate cells We monitored activity of bone growth plates in a male-larger gecko Growth plates fused in a sex-specific manner At least some lizards are determinate growers Their sexual size dimorphism seems to be driven by ovarian hormones
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukáš Kubička
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Viničná 7, 128 44 Praha 2, Czech Republic
| | - Adam Tureček
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Viničná 7, 128 44 Praha 2, Czech Republic
| | - Tomáš Kučera
- Institute of Histology and Embryology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Albertov 4, 128 00 Praha 2, Czech Republic
| | - Lukáš Kratochvíl
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Viničná 7, 128 44 Praha 2, Czech Republic
- Corresponding author
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