Contrasting effects of increased yolk testosterone content on development and oxidative status in gull embryos

Parolini, Marco; Romanò, Andrea; Possenti, Cristina Daniela; Caprioli, Manuela; Rubolini, Diego; Saino, Nicola

doi:10.1242/jeb.145235

Cited by 14 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 97 publications

(122 reference statements)

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“…Finally, we observed that males had significantly larger brains than females after controlling for embryo size or mass. A sex difference in brain mass is consistent with evidence from previous studies (Parolini et al, 2017c), although it was not affected by yolk supplementation with vitamin E, corticosterone or their mixture.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Prenatal independent and combined effects of yolk vitamin E and corticosterone on embryo growth and oxidative status in the yellow-legged gull

Parolini

Possenti

Secomandi

et al. 2019

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Variation in the concentration of antioxidants and hormones of maternal origin in the eggs of birds can have a profound influence on offspring phenotype both prenatally and postnatally. Egg maternal substances can have interacting effects, but experimental studies of the consequences of the combined variation in the egg concentration of such molecules are extremely rare, particularly as far as prenatal stages are concerned. We manipulated the yolk concentration of vitamin E and corticosterone, which are, respectively, the main antioxidant and the main glucocorticoid hormone in bird eggs, both independently and simultaneously, and we tested their separate and combined effects on growth and oxidative status in the liver and in the brain of yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis) embryos. Egg supplementation of relatively large physiological doses of corticosterone depressed embryo growth (total body mass, tarsus length and liver mass), whereas administration of vitamin E in association with corticosterone restored normal growth. Vitamin E did not affect embryo growth when administered alone. We further analysed the independent and combined effects of vitamin E and corticosterone on liver and brain total antioxidant capacity, the concentration of reactive oxygen molecules and lipid peroxidation. Vitamin E significantly reduced liver total antioxidant capacity, while corticosterone depressed brain lipid peroxidation. Prenatal exposure to vitamin E and corticosterone appears to have antagonistic effects on body growth, although vitamin E is not limiting in yellow-legged gull eggs. In combination with the results of previous experiments on the same species applying smaller experimental doses or focusing on the postnatal rather than prenatal life stages, our findings indicate that the effects of a physiological increase in the egg concentration of these substances can be life stage and dose specific, implying that generalizing prenatal effects of egg compounds may not be feasible.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Prenatal independent and combined effects of yolk vitamin E and corticosterone on embryo growth and oxidative status in the yellow-legged gull

Parolini

Possenti

Secomandi

et al. 2019

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…condition of the female 39 ), age of the female 62 , predators 63 , 64 and parasites 65 . Within the female, physiological processes like stress hormone 63 , yolk steroid 66 , testosterone 67 and carotenoid production 68 , as well as trade-offs with other traits like lateral plate production 60 and immune response 69 can also lead to variation in features of eggs and clutches. For the marine stickleback population studied here, little is known about habitat variability in the open sea where they overwinter and where the early stages of ova maturation begin 60 , but adults aggregate into small tidal channels and salt marsh pools for spawning starting in late spring (just prior to the last phases of egg maturation) where the habitat conditions (biotic and abiotic) are similar for all females (Shama, pers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The mean and variance of climate change in the oceans: hidden evolutionary potential under stochastic environmental variability in marine sticklebacks

Shama

2017

Sci Rep

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Increasing climate variability may pose an even greater risk to species than climate warming because temperature fluctuations can amplify adverse impacts of directional warming on fitness-related traits. Here, the influence of directional warming and increasing climate variability on marine stickleback fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus) offspring size variation was investigated by simulating changes to the mean and variance of ocean temperatures predicted under climate change. Reproductive traits of mothers and offspring size reaction norms across four climate scenarios were examined to assess the roles of standing genetic variation, transgenerational and within-generation plasticity in adaptive potential. Mothers acclimated to directional warming produced smaller eggs than mothers in constant, ambient temperatures, whereas mothers in a predictably variable environment (weekly change between temperatures) produced a range of egg sizes, possibly reflecting a diversified bet hedging strategy. Offspring size post-hatch was mostly influenced by genotype by environment interactions and not transgenerational effects. Offspring size reaction norms also differed depending on the type of environmental predictability (predictably variable vs. stochastic), with offspring reaching the largest sizes in the stochastic environment. Release of cryptic genetic variation for offspring size in the stochastic environment suggests hidden evolutionary potential in this wild population to respond to changes in environmental predictability.

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“…To this end, since maternal effects can occur through variation in egg mass, macroconstituents (e.g. albumen content) and quantitatively minor components that may affect post-natal performance (Blount et al 2002, Christians 2002, Bonisoli-Alquati et al 2007, Groothuis and Schwabl 2008, Navara and Mendonça 2008, Parolini et al 2017a), we analysed the relationship between eggshell pigmentation and egg mass, yolk/albumen ratio, yolk total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and yolk testosterone concentration. Fourth, we tested whether eggshell pigmentation pattern was related to female quality-related traits.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Protoporphyrin‐based eggshell pigmentation predicts hatching success and offspring sex ratio in the barn swallow

Corti

Romanò

Costanzo

et al. 2018

Journal of Avian Biology

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Inter‐ and intraspecific variation in eggshell colouration has long fascinated evolutionary biologists. Among species, such variation may accomplish different functions, the most obvious of which is camouflage and background matching. Within species, it has been proposed that inter‐female variation in eggshell pigmentation patterns can reflect egg, maternal or paternal traits and hence may provide cues to conspecifics about egg, maternal or paternal phenotypic quality. However, the relationship between protoporphyrin‐based eggshell pigmentation and egg or maternal/paternal traits appears to be highly variable among species. We investigated patterns of intraspecific variation in Eurasian barn swallow Hirundo r. rustica protoporphyrin‐based eggshell pigmentation, and analysed its association with egg and clutch characteristics, maternal/paternal phenotypic traits and parental feeding effort. Eggshell pigmentation pattern significantly varied between breeding colonies, was significantly repeatable in first clutches laid by the same females in different years (intraclass correlation coefficient ranging between 0.56 and 0.63), but it was not significantly associated with egg traits, such as position in the laying sequence, egg mass, yolk testosterone concentration and antioxidant capacity. It was weakly or non‐significantly associated with female and male traits (sexual ornaments), but females laying darker (higher pigment intensity) first clutches had higher hatching success, suggesting that eggshell pigment intensity may predict fitness. Male nestling feeding effort was not predicted by eggshell pigmentation. In addition, females with darker breast plumage colouration (a melanin‐based trait related to fitness) laid highly protoporphyrin‐covered eggs, suggesting the presence of a previously unappreciated link between protoporphyrin biosynthesis and plumage melanisation. Moreover, the proportion of male offspring increased in clutches originating from highly protoporphyrin‐covered eggs, suggesting that parents could acquire visual cues about their future brood sex composition before egg hatching. Our results support the idea that intraspecific signalling via eggshell pigmentation is a species‐specific rather than a general feature of avian taxa.

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Contrasting effects of increased yolk testosterone content on development and oxidative status in gull embryos

Cited by 14 publications

References 97 publications

Prenatal independent and combined effects of yolk vitamin E and corticosterone on embryo growth and oxidative status in the yellow-legged gull

Prenatal independent and combined effects of yolk vitamin E and corticosterone on embryo growth and oxidative status in the yellow-legged gull

The mean and variance of climate change in the oceans: hidden evolutionary potential under stochastic environmental variability in marine sticklebacks

Protoporphyrin‐based eggshell pigmentation predicts hatching success and offspring sex ratio in the barn swallow

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