A Place to Hide in the Home-Cage Decreases Yolk Androgen Levels and Offspring Emotional Reactivity in Japanese Quail

Guesdon, Vanessa; Bertin, Aline; Houdelier, Cécilia; Lumineau, Sophie; Formanek, Laureline; Kotrschal, Kurt; Möstl, Erich; Richard‐Yris, Marie‐Annick

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0023941

Cited by 12 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…Together, these results suggest that maternal stress might affect the overall ability of offspring to modify their behaviour in response to the environment resulting in consequences for behavioural plasticity across a number of contexts. This is consistent with recent studies finding that maternal stress can affect offspring emotional and social reactivity [16,17]. Whether these negative effects are balanced by positive effects on other traits is unknown.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Maternal predator-exposure has lifelong consequences for offspring learning in threespined sticklebacks

2012

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Learning is an important form of phenotypic plasticity that allows organisms to adjust their behaviour to the environment. An individual's learning performance can be affected by its mother's environment. For example, mothers exposed to stressors, such as restraint and forced swimming, often produce offspring with impaired learning performance. However, it is unclear whether there are maternal effects on offspring learning when mothers are exposed to ecologically relevant stressors, such as predation risk. Here, we examined whether maternal predator-exposure affects adult offsprings' learning of a discrimination task in threespined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Mothers were either repeatedly chased by a model predator (predator-exposed) or not (unexposed) while producing eggs. Performance of adult offspring from predator-exposed and unexposed mothers was assessed in a discrimination task that paired a particular coloured chamber with a food reward. Following training, all offspring learned the colour-association, but offspring of predator-exposed mothers located the food reward more slowly than offspring of unexposed mothers. This pattern was not driven by initial differences in exploratory behaviour. These results demonstrate that an ecologically relevant stressor (predation risk) can induce maternal effects on offspring learning, and perhaps behavioural plasticity more generally, that last into adulthood.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Maternal predator-exposure has lifelong consequences for offspring learning in threespined sticklebacks

2012

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“…The pattern of the correlative response in yolk T in females selected for contrasting fearfulness and social motivation showed similar features as the direct response to selection for egg T concentrations. We recorded a limited potential for a decrease of yolk T levels as compared to the population mean in non-selected lines of Japanese quail in the present study (7.34±0.66 ng/g yolk) as well as in other studies [4], [25], [43], [44]. Moreover, a narrower range of inter-female variability in yolk T deposition was found in lines exhibiting low egg hormone levels (LTI, LSR and LET) as compared to lines with high hormone levels (STI, HSR and HET).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 73%

Maternally Derived Egg Hormones, Antibodies and Antimicrobial Proteins: Common and Different Pathways of Maternal Effects in Japanese Quail

et al. 2014

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Avian eggs contain a variety of maternally-derived substances that can influence the development and performance of offspring. The levels of these egg compounds vary in relation to environmental and genetic factors, but little is known about whether there are correlative links between maternal substances in the egg underlying common and different pathways of maternal effects. In the present study, we investigated genetically determined variability and mutually adjusted deposition of sex hormones (testosterone-T, androstenedione-A4 and progesterone-P4), antibodies (IgY) and antimicrobial proteins (lysozyme) in eggs of Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica). We used different genetic lines that were independently selected for yolk T concentrations, duration of tonic immobility and social reinstatement behaviour, since both selections for behavioural traits (fearfulness and social motivation, respectively) produced considerable correlative responses in yolk androgen levels. A higher selection potential was found for increased rather than decreased yolk T concentrations, suggesting that there is a physiological minimum in egg T levels. Line differences in yolk IgY concentrations were manifested within each selection experiment, but no consistent inter-line pattern between yolk IgY and T was revealed. On the other hand, a consistent inverse inter-line pattern was recorded between yolk IgY and P4 in both selections for behavioural traits. In addition, selections for contrasting fearfulness and social motivation were associated with changes in albumen lysozyme concentrations and an inverse inter-line pattern between the deposition of yolk IgY and albumen lysozyme was found in lines selected for the level of social motivation. Thus, our results demonstrate genetically-driven changes in deposition of yolk T, P4, antibodies and albumen lysozyme in the egg. This genetic variability can partially explain mutually adjusted maternal deposition of sex hormones and immune-competent molecules but the inconsistent pattern of inter-line differences across all selections indicates that there are other underlying mechanisms, which require further studies.

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“…One possible hypothesis could be that the higher concentration of androgens in the eggs of experimental hens accelerated the development and maturation of embryos and in turn advance, for example, the stage of navel healing at hatching. Yolk hormones were consistently found to enhance or impair the growth of chicks and commonly have a short-duration effect on the post-hatching development [13], [17], [22], [23], [24] however, the smaller size of our experimental chicks was most likely because of the smaller size of the experimental eggs. In fact, heavier eggs are known to produce larger chicks [66], [67].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

“…In addition, precocial chicks can feed by themselves, allowing us the distinction between the influences of the experience in ovo from that of the post-hatching parental behavior. In the Japanese quail ( Coturnix c. japonica ), a close-related species, social instability, human-animal relationship, unpredictable stress, and housing conditions of females [17], [22], [23], [24] were identified as factors that influence egg quality and yolk hormone levels (androgens, progesterone). Variations in these factors were consistently found to affect offspring development and behavior.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moderate Heat Challenge Increased Yolk Steroid Hormones and Shaped Offspring Growth and Behavior in Chickens

Bertin

Chanson

Delaveau³

et al. 2013

PLoS ONE

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BackgroundEnvironmental challenges might affect the maternal organism and indirectly affect the later ontogeny of the progeny. We investigated the cross-generation impact of a moderate heat challenge in chickens. We hypothesized that a warm temperature–within the thermotolerance range- would affect the hormonal environment provided to embryos by mothers, and in turn, affect the morphology and behavioral phenotype of offspring.Methodology/Principal FindingsLaying hens were raised under a standard thermal condition at 21°C (controls) or 30°C (experimental) for 5 consecutive weeks. A significant increase was observed in the internal temperature of hens exposed to the warm treatment; however plasma corticosterone levels remained unaffected. The laying rate was not affected, but experimental hens laid lighter eggs than the controls during the treatment. As expected, the maternal thermal environment affected yolk hormone contents. Eggs laid by the experimental hens showed significantly higher concentrations of yolk progesterone, testosterone, and estradiol. All chicks were raised under standard thermal conditions. The quality of hatchlings, growth, feeding behavior and emotional reactivity of chicks were analyzed. Offspring of experimental hens (C30 chicks) were lighter but obtained better morphological quality scores at hatching than the controls (C21 chicks). C30 chicks expressed lesser distress calls when exposed to a novel food. Unlike C21 chicks, C30 chicks expressed no preference for energetic food.Conclusion/SignificanceOur findings suggest that moderate heat challenge triggers maternal effects and modulate the developmental trajectory of offspring in a way that may be adaptive. This suggests that the impact of heat challenges on captive or wild populations might have a cross-generation effect.

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A Place to Hide in the Home-Cage Decreases Yolk Androgen Levels and Offspring Emotional Reactivity in Japanese Quail

Cited by 12 publications

References 65 publications

Maternal predator-exposure has lifelong consequences for offspring learning in threespined sticklebacks

Maternal predator-exposure has lifelong consequences for offspring learning in threespined sticklebacks

Maternally Derived Egg Hormones, Antibodies and Antimicrobial Proteins: Common and Different Pathways of Maternal Effects in Japanese Quail

Moderate Heat Challenge Increased Yolk Steroid Hormones and Shaped Offspring Growth and Behavior in Chickens

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