Epigenetics and the maintenance of developmental plasticity: extending the signalling theory framework

Laubach, Zachary M.; Perng, Wei; Dolinoy, Dana C.; Faulk, Christopher; Holekamp, Kay E.; Getty, Thomas

doi:10.1111/brv.12396

Cited by 50 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 131 publications

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“…If the novel environment is unpredictable, an adaptive response to a cue at an earlier time point can still result in phenotypes that mismatch the environment at the time of trait expression (Laubach et al. ). Additional tests with different types of plastic traits are needed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is because a novel environment can be different in both the mean value of an environmental factor and/or its predictability. If the novel environment is unpredictable, an adaptive response to a cue at an earlier time point can still result in phenotypes that mismatch the environment at the time of trait expression (Laubach et al 2018). Additional tests with different types of plastic traits are needed.…”

Section: P0-10mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Phenotypic plasticity facilitates initial colonization of a novel environment

Wang

Althoff

2019

Evolution

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Phenotypic plasticity can allow organisms to respond to environmental changes by producing better matching phenotypes without any genetic change. Because of this, plasticity is predicted to be a major mechanism by which a population can survive the initial stage of colonizing a novel environment. We tested this prediction by challenging wild Drosophila melanogaster with increasingly extreme larval environments and then examining expression of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and its relationship to larval survival in the first generation of encountering a novel environment. We found that most families responded in the adaptive direction of increased ADH activity in higher alcohol environments and families with higher plasticity were also more likely to survive in the highest alcohol environment. Thus, plasticity of ADH activity was positively selected in the most extreme environment and was a key trait influencing fitness. Furthermore, there was significant heritability of ADH plasticity that can allow plasticity to evolve in subsequent generations after initial colonization. The adaptive value of plasticity, however, was only evident in the most extreme environment and had little impact on fitness in less extreme environments. The results provide one of the first direct tests of the adaptive role of phenotypic plasticity in colonizing a novel environment.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: P0-10mentioning

confidence: 99%

Phenotypic plasticity facilitates initial colonization of a novel environment

Wang

Althoff

2019

Evolution

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“…Epigenetic mechanisms that may underlie phenotypic plasticity and may in some cases be transmitted across generations received increasing attention, especially as new molecular tools appeared (e.g., DNA methylation sequencing). Although the potential role of early-life effects in developmental programming of adult traits has been recognized based on numerous studies of humans and laboratory rodents, studies of such phenomena in wild mammals are scarce Laubach et al 2018).…”

Section: Key Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecophysiology of mammals

Tomasi

Anderson

Garland

2019

Journal of Mammalogy

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Ecophysiology is a relatively recent interdisciplinary field, and although active prior to the 75th anniversary of the American Society of Mammalogists (ASM), it has grown in breadth since then. This growth is in part a result of advances in technology that have reduced the size and improved the portability of key instrumentation, and also made sequencing of proteins and nucleic acids faster and less expensive. Here, we demonstrate the breadth of recent research on the ecophysiology of mammals, quantify the research activity of the past 25 years, and consider future research needs. Some of the most active areas of research have related to maintenance of homeostasis, associations of physiological traits with the evolution of varied life styles and life histories, and reproductive physiology. Key findings involve allometry and scaling, energetics and thermoregulation, phenotypic plasticity and epigenetics, and the importance of microbial symbionts. With respect to predictions of trends in mammalian ecophysiology, the strongest themes relate to conservation biology, in large part related to rapid climate change, habitat destruction, and other anthropogenic factors. How our mammalian fauna adapts (or not) to these changes will be of great interest, and has the potential to affect the science of mammalogy in the future. La ecofisiología es un campo interdisciplinario relativamente reciente, y a pesar de que era un área vigorosa antes del septuagésimo quinto aniversario de la Sociedad Americana de Mastozoología (ASM), desde entonces ha crecido en envergadura. Este crecimiento es en parte el resultado de los avances tecnológicos en donde el tamaño de los instrumentos se ha reducido facilitando de ese modo la portabilidad de instrumentos claves, y al mismo tiempo, permitiendo que la secuenciación de proteínas y ácidos nucleicos sea más rápida y menos costosa. En este trabajo, se demuestra el alcance de la investigación reciente sobre la ecofisiología de los mamíferos, se cuantifica la actividad científica de las investigaciones de las últimas dos décadas y se hacen predicciones para los próximos 25 años. Algunas de las áreas más activas de investigación se han asociado con el mantenimiento de la homeostasis, la relación entre los rasgos fisiológicos con la evolución de diferentes estilos e historias de vida, y la fisiología reproductiva. Los hallazgos clave incluyen la alometría y la escala, la energética y la termorregulación, la plasticidad fenotípica y la epigenética, y la importancia de los simbiontes microbianos. Con respecto a las predicciones sobre las tendencias de la ecofisiología de mamíferos, los temas más comunes están relacionados con la biología de la conservación, en su mayor parte a consecuencia del rápido cambio climático, la destrucción del hábitat y otros factores antropogénicos. La forma en que nuestra fauna de mamíferos se adapta (o no) a estos cambios, a nivel fisiológico y de otro tipo, será de gran interés en el futuro, teniendo el potencial de influir a la ciencia de la mastozoología.

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“…C. elegans is a valuable model to study the effects of environmental exposures on the epigenome, as well as developmental plasticity (reviewed in Laubach et al, ), due to its ability to respond to a variety of environmental stressors, including osmolarity (Kishimoto et al, ), starvation (Rechavi et al, ), and temperature (Klosin et al, ), as well as chemical pollutants, such as heavy metals (Kishimoto et al, ; Rudgalvyte et al, ), nanoparticles (Schultz et al, ), and others. The extent to which C. elegans encounters anthropogenically produced or mobilized chemicals in its natural environment is not well studied, but ongoing study of wild nematode strains will enable characterization of chemical response and resistance outside of a controlled laboratory environment, potentially permitting the adoption of this organism in ecotoxicological studies.…”

Section: Caenorhabditis Elegans As An Emerging Model System For Envirmentioning

confidence: 99%

Caenorhabditis elegans as an emerging model system in environmental epigenetics

Weinhouse

Truong

Meyer

et al. 2018

Environ and Mol Mutagen

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The roundworm Caenorhabitis elegans has been an established model organism for the study of genetics and developmental biology, including studies of transcriptional regulation, since the 1970s. This model organism has continued to be used as a classical model system as the field of transcriptional regulation has expanded to include scientific advances in epigenetics and chromatin biology. In the last several decades, C. elegans has emerged as a powerful model for environmental toxicology, particularly for the study of chemical genotoxicity. Here, we outline the utility and applicability of C. elegans as a powerful model organism for mechanistic studies of environmental influences on the epigenome. Our goal in this article is to inform the field of environmental epigenetics of the strengths and limitations of the well-established C. elegans model organism as an emerging model for medium-throughput, in vivo exploration of the role of exogenous chemical stimuli in transcriptional regulation, developmental epigenetic reprogramming, and epigenetic memory and inheritance. As the field of environmental epigenetics matures, and research begins to map mechanisms underlying observed associations, new toolkits and model systems, particularly manipulable, scalable in vivo systems that accurately model human transcriptional regulatory circuits, will provide an essential experimental bridge between in vitro biochemical experiments and mammalian model systems. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 59:560-575, 2018. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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Epigenetics and the maintenance of developmental plasticity: extending the signalling theory framework

Cited by 50 publications

References 131 publications

Phenotypic plasticity facilitates initial colonization of a novel environment

Phenotypic plasticity facilitates initial colonization of a novel environment

Ecophysiology of mammals

Caenorhabditis elegans as an emerging model system in environmental epigenetics

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