Maternal Effects in Mammals

Maestripieri, Dario; Mateo, Jill M.

doi:10.7208/chicago/9780226501222.001.0001

Cited by 128 publications

(104 citation statements)

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“…Eklund 1997;Wolf 2000;Hager & Johnstone 2006a). In most mammals, a major component of the social environment is provided by mothers and this maternally provided environment has been shown to be a major determinant of offspring phenotype through both behaviour and provisioning (Maestripieri & Mateo 2009). Because such maternal effects can account for a relatively large proportion of phenotypic variance (Roff 1997), many studies wish to control for such effects to obtain estimates of the independent effects of offspring and maternal genotype on offspring trait variation (Cowley et al 1989;Lock et al 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Change in maternal environment induced by cross-fostering alters genetic and epigenetic effects on complex traits in mice

2009

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The interaction between maternally provided environment and offspring genotype is a major determinant of offspring development and fitness in many organisms. Recent research has demonstrated that not only genetic effects, but also epigenetic effects may be subject to modifications by the maternal environment. Genomic imprinting resulting in parent-of-origin-dependent gene expression is among the best studied of epigenetic effects. However, very little is known about the degree to which genomic imprinting effects can be modulated by the maternally provided environment, which has important implications for phenotypic plasticity. In this study, we investigated this unresolved question using a cross-fostering design in which mouse pups were nursed by either their own or an unrelated mother. We scanned the entire genome to search for quantitative trait loci whose effects depend on cross-fostering and detected 10 of such loci. Of the 10 loci, 4 showed imprinting by cross-foster interactions. In most cases, the interaction effect was due to the presence of an effect in either cross-fostered or non-cross-fostered animals. Our results demonstrate that genomic imprinting effects may often be modified by the maternal environment and that such interactions can impact key fitness-related traits suggesting a greater plasticity of genomic imprinting than previously assumed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Change in maternal environment induced by cross-fostering alters genetic and epigenetic effects on complex traits in mice

2009

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“…Our work provides support for the idea that direct physical interaction with offspring during early development, including mechanical or vibrational signals, can influence offspring developmental fate and adult phenotype. The importance of physical mother -offspring interactions may be a common theme in maternal effects in species with prolonged maternal care [3]. In addition, we suggest that mother -offspring physical interaction is an underappreciated mechanism affecting caste development and its evolution in social insects.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There has been increasing interest in understanding how specific forms of mother -offspring interaction during critical periods in early development can affect the physiology, behaviour and health of offspring, and whether such effects are reversible [1][2][3]. To date, many studies on maternal effects have focused on mammals, especially humans and rodents [3], in which it can be difficult to experimentally manipulate maternal behaviour and to separate it from correlated factors such as nutritional deficiencies and other forms of stress. Thus, there is still much to be learned about how maternal and nutritional factors interact to influence offspring development and about the underlying physiological and molecular mechanisms mediating these effects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Compared with other forms of social interaction, maternal behaviour can exert an especially potent influence, as contact with offspring can be prolonged and occur throughout sensitive developmental stages [1]. There has been increasing interest in understanding how specific forms of mother -offspring interaction during critical periods in early development can affect the physiology, behaviour and health of offspring, and whether such effects are reversible [1][2][3]. To date, many studies on maternal effects have focused on mammals, especially humans and rodents [3], in which it can be difficult to experimentally manipulate maternal behaviour and to separate it from correlated factors such as nutritional deficiencies and other forms of stress.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Maternal and nourishment factors interact to influence offspring developmental trajectories in social wasps

et al. 2017

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The social and nutritional environments during early development have the potential to affect offspring traits, but the mechanisms and molecular underpinnings of these effects remain elusive. We used Polistes fuscatus paper wasps to dissect how maternally controlled factors (vibrational signals and nourishment) interact to induce different caste developmental trajectories in female offspring, leading to worker or reproductive (gyne) traits. We established a set of caste phenotype biomarkers in P. fuscatus females, finding that gyne-destined individuals had high expression of three caste-related genes hypothesized to have roles in diapause and mitochondrial metabolism. We then experimentally manipulated maternal vibrational signals (via artificial 'antennal drumming') and nourishment levels (via restricted foraging). We found that these caste-related biomarker genes were responsive to drumming, nourishment level or their interaction. Our results provide a striking example of the potent influence of maternal and nutritional effects in influencing transcriptional activity and developmental outcomes in offspring. RightsWorks produced by employees of the U.S. Government as part of their official duties are not copyrighted within the U.S. The content of this document is not copyrighted. The social and nutritional environments during early development have the potential to affect offspring traits, but the mechanisms and molecular underpinnings of these effects remain elusive. We used Polistes fuscatus paper wasps to dissect how maternally controlled factors (vibrational signals and nourishment) interact to induce different caste developmental trajectories in female offspring, leading to worker or reproductive (gyne) traits. We established a set of caste phenotype biomarkers in P. fuscatus females, finding that gyne-destined individuals had high expression of three caste-related genes hypothesized to have roles in diapause and mitochondrial metabolism. We then experimentally manipulated maternal vibrational signals (via artificial 'antennal drumming') and nourishment levels (via restricted foraging). We found that these caste-related biomarker genes were responsive to drumming, nourishment level or their interaction. Our results provide a striking example of the potent influence of maternal and nutritional effects in influencing transcriptional activity and developmental outcomes in offspring.

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“…Specific instances of responsiveness of a developing trait to a particular environment, such as the environments created by parents, are likely to be retained and shaped by natural selection during evolution when they provide a compelling advantage over many generations (see Section V). Such effects are actually common in nature and occur in Neuropsychoanalysis 13 many species: first discovered in reptiles and insects (Mousseau & Fox, 1998), then in a variety of mammals (Maestripieri & Matteo, 2009; and placed in a broader perspective in Mousseau et al, 2009). Their evolutionary advantage stems primarily from their beneficial effects on the next generation, effects that are "anticipatory;" that is, they equip the offspring in advance for predictable environmental threats.…”

Section: How Did Early Mothering Effects Evolve?mentioning

confidence: 99%

The emerging synthesis of development and evolution: A new biology for psychoanalysis

Hofer

2014

Neuropsychoanalysis

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Significant transformations have taken place in our understanding of evolution and development since the late nineteenth century, when the two seemed so closely related; at that time, the ideas of Charles Darwin, Ernst Haeckel, and other biologists played a prominent role in Freud's creation of psychoanalysis. During the twentieth century, as biological research reached the molecular level, biological concepts of development and of evolution veered progressively further from each other and further away from psychoanalysis. Then most recently, in response to a flood of discoveries in the last two decades, the long-separated fields of developmental and evolutionary biology have come together in the creation of a new field, informally referred to as "Evo-Devo." In this paper, I trace these remarkable changes, and discuss how these recent advances have returned biological concepts to a closer alignment with psychoanalytic principles regarding the role of early experience in long-term developmental change and the importance of the role that early parent-infant interactions play in shaping our lives and those of our children. I have illustrated the changes in our thinking that have taken place over the past half century by describing the different ways that I have thought about, puzzled over, and been enlightened by these changing concepts in the course of my psychobiological research on the roles of the mother-infant relationship in the development of a relatively simple model organism, the laboratory rat.

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Maternal Effects in Mammals

Cited by 128 publications

References 0 publications

Change in maternal environment induced by cross-fostering alters genetic and epigenetic effects on complex traits in mice

Change in maternal environment induced by cross-fostering alters genetic and epigenetic effects on complex traits in mice

Maternal and nourishment factors interact to influence offspring developmental trajectories in social wasps

The emerging synthesis of development and evolution: A new biology for psychoanalysis

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