Evidence of a maternal effect that protects against water stress in larvae of the American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis (Acari: Ixodidae)

Yoder, Jay A.; Tank, Justin L.; Rellinger, Eric J.

doi:10.1016/j.jinsphys.2006.07.002

Cited by 23 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…In this study, ticks were maintained at 93% RH, whereas 97% RH was used in previous studies (Yoder et al, 2012). Although both conditions are above the CEH, this slight difference in RH can elicit effects on water characteristics of larvae (Yoder et al, 2006b). The possibility that this minor variation in RH can stimulate physiological responses that impact water balance warrants further investigation.…”

Section: Experimental Dehydrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The methylation of lysine residues on histones can act in gene silencing or transcriptional activation, depending on the precise nature of the methylation (Martin and Zhang, 2005). This epigenetic regulation of transcription may contribute to the maternal effects on the characteristics of water balance observed in larvae of D. variabilis when their mothers are exposed to low humidities before oviposition (Yoder et al, 2006b). …”

Section: Dehydration-induced Changes To the Transcriptomementioning

confidence: 99%

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Mechanistic underpinnings of dehydration stress in the American dog tick revealed through RNA-Seq and metabolomics

Rosendale

Romick-Rosendale

Watanabe

et al. 2016

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Ticks are obligate blood feeders but spend the majority of their lifetime off-host where they must contend with a multitude of environmental stresses. Survival under desiccating conditions is a determinant for habitats where ticks can become established, and water-balance characteristics of ticks have been extensively studied. However, little is known about the underlying aspects associated with dehydration stress in ticks. In this study, we examined the response of male American dog ticks, Dermacentor variabilis, to dehydration using a combined transcriptomics and metabolomics approach. During dehydration, 497 genes were differentially expressed, including an up-regulation of stress-response and protein-catabolism genes and concurrent down-regulation of several energetically expensive biological processes. Accumulation of several metabolites, including specific amino acids, glycerol and gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA), and transcript shifts in the associated pathways for generating these metabolites indicated congruence between changes in the metabolome and gene expression. Ticks treated with exogenous glycerol and GABA demonstrated altered water-balance characteristics; specifically, increased water absorption at high relative humidity. Finally, we observed changes in locomotor activity in response to dehydration, but this change was not influenced by the accumulation of GABA. Overall, the responses to dehydration by these ticks were similar to those observed in other dehydrationtolerant arthropods, but several molecular and behavioral responses are distinct from those associated with other taxa.

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Section: Experimental Dehydrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Dehydration-induced Changes To the Transcriptomementioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanistic underpinnings of dehydration stress in the American dog tick revealed through RNA-Seq and metabolomics

Rosendale

Romick-Rosendale

Watanabe

et al. 2016

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…In these cases, the provenance of the transgenerational epigenetic effect often remains unknown (or uninvestigated). Also, studies that assess offspring physiology after manipulating parental conditions/ environment (see Fig.2B) often do not directly identify the potential parental factors responsible for the physiological change (Schwerte et al, 2005;Yoder et al, 2006;Ho, 2008;Watkins et al, 2008). In zebrafish, for example, modulation of parental abiotic environment and nutrition confers increased resistance to the environmental stressor and alterations in cardiovascular parameters (stroke volume, heart rate, cardiac output and red blood cell concentration) to the subsequent generation (Schwerte et al, 2005;Ho, 2008).…”

Section: Exploring the Unknowns Of Physiological Epigenetic Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, humidity resistance in dog ticks (Dermacentor variabilis) can be attributed to the environmental humidity that the female parent was exposed to during egg laying (Yoder et al, 2006), yet the particular mechanism of transfer remains elusive. Even the studies discussed above (see 'Maternal effects in epigenetics'), which have narrowed the origin of the effect to maternally derived egg factors, have yet to lead to identification of specific signals/mechanisms of physiological change (Munkittrick and Dixon, 1998;Badyaev et al, 2002;Sellin and Kolok, 2006;Ho, 2008;Watkins et al, 2008).…”

Section: Exploring the Unknowns Of Physiological Epigenetic Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Epigenetics and transgenerational transfer: a physiological perspective

Burggren

2010

Journal of Experimental Biology

303

227

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Summary Epigenetics, the transgenerational transfer of phenotypic characters without modification of gene sequence, is a burgeoning area of study in many disciplines of biology. However, the potential impact of this phenomenon on the physiology of animals is not yet broadly appreciated, in part because the phenomenon of epigenetics is not typically part of the design of physiological investigations. Still enigmatic and somewhat ill defined is the relationship between the overarching concept of epigenetics and interesting transgenerational phenomena (e.g. ‘maternal/parental effects’) that alter the physiological phenotype of subsequent generations. The lingering effect on subsequent generations of an initial environmental disturbance in parent animals can be profound, with genes continuing to be variously silenced or expressed without an associated change in gene sequence for many generations. Known epigenetic mechanisms involved in this phenomenon include chromatin remodeling (DNA methylation and histone modification), RNA-mediated modifications (non-coding RNA and microRNA), as well as other less well studied mechanisms such as self-sustaining loops and structural inheritance. In this review we: (1) discuss how the concepts of epigenetics and maternal effects both overlap with, and are distinct from, each other; (2) analyze examples of existing animal physiological studies based on these concepts; and (3) offer a construct by which to integrate these concepts into the design of future investigations in animal physiology.

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“…TGP may provide an important and understudied mechanism for coping with rapid environmental variation, including climate change (Rando & Verstrepen 2007). For instance, TGP in desiccation tolerance in a tick ( Dermacentor variabilis ; Yoder et al. 2006) or drought tolerance in a weed ( Polygonum persicaria ; Sultan et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermal legacies: transgenerational effects of temperature on growth in a vertebrate

2011

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Transgenerational plasticity (TGP), a generalisation of more widely studied maternal effects, occurs whenever environmental cues experienced by either parent prior to fertilisation results in a modification of offspring reaction norms. Such effects have been observed in many traits across many species. Despite enormous potential importance-particularly in an era of rapid climate change-TGP in thermal growth physiology has never been demonstrated for vertebrates. We provide the first evidence for thermal TGP in a vertebrate: given sufficient time, sheepshead minnows adaptively program their offspring for maximal growth at the present temperature. The change in growth over a single generation (c. 30%) exceeds the single-generation rate of adaptive evolution by an order of magnitude. If widespread, transgenerational effects on thermal performance may have important implications on physiology, ecology and contemporary evolution, and may significantly alter the extinction risk posed by changing climate.

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Evidence of a maternal effect that protects against water stress in larvae of the American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis (Acari: Ixodidae)

Cited by 23 publications

References 17 publications

Mechanistic underpinnings of dehydration stress in the American dog tick revealed through RNA-Seq and metabolomics

Mechanistic underpinnings of dehydration stress in the American dog tick revealed through RNA-Seq and metabolomics

Epigenetics and transgenerational transfer: a physiological perspective

Thermal legacies: transgenerational effects of temperature on growth in a vertebrate

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