Pre- and post-natal stress in context: effects on the stress physiology in a precocial bird

Abstract

SUMMARYDevelopmental stress can significantly influence physiology and survival in many species. Mammalian studies suggest that preand post-natal stress can have different effects (i.e. hyper-or hypo-responsiveness) on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, the main mediator of the stress response. In mammals, the physiological intimacy between mother and offspring constrains the possibility to control, and therefore manipulate, maternal pre-and post-natal influences. Here, using the Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) as our model, we elevated levels of the glucocorticoid stress hormone corticosterone in ovo and/or in the endogenous circulation of hatchlings. We examined the effects of treatments on corticosterone and glucose stress responses at two different ages, in juvenile and adult quail. In juveniles, corticosterone data revealed a sex-specific effect of postnatal treatment regardless of the previous pre-natal protocol, with post-natally treated females showing shorter stress responses in comparison with the other groups, while no differences were observed among males. In adulthood, birds previously stressed as embryos showed higher corticosterone concentrations over the stress response compared with controls. This effect was not evident in birds subjected to either post-natal treatment or the combined treatments. There were no effects on glucose in the juveniles. However, adult birds previously stressed in ovo showed opposite sex-specific basal glucose patterns compared with the other groups. Our results demonstrate that (1) early glucocorticoid exposure can have both transient and long-term effects on the HPA axis, depending upon the developmental stage and sex and (2) post-natal stress can modulate the effects of pre-natal stress on HPA activity.

Organismal stress, telomeres and life histories

“…Such effects could come about through routes such as early life 'programming' of the glucocorticoid and endocannabinoid systems in the brain [see Senst and Bains in this issue for details of this system (Senst and Bains, 2014)]. However, in other studies, for example in chickens, early life stress resulted in a dampening of the stress response (Goerlich et al, 2012), which has also been found in some other bird species and in rodents (Marasco et al, 2012). In rodents and primates, pre-natal stress exposure can elevate baseline glucocorticoid levels, though in humans the opposite may occur (Harris and Seckl, 2011).…”

“…A number of different factors might be at play here such as the extent to which domestication has selected for reduced stress sensitivity, the time scale over which the effects are measured, the stage at which the manipulation is carried out, the degree of precociality at birth or hatching and aspects of the experimental protocol [see Marasco (Marasco et al, 2012) for a discussion of these factors]. More studies are needed in order to identify whether there are any ecological or life history factors that are predictive of the effect of early stress exposure on later stress responsiveness, and whether the pre-and post-natal effects differ or interact (Marasco et al, 2012). We also need more studies that investigate the potential benefits in different environmental circumstances.…”

Experimental effects of early‐life corticosterone on the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis and pre‐migratory behaviour in a wild songbird

“…For example, in western scrub jays (Aphelocoma californica), postnatal food restriction elevated baseline levels of corticosterone in nestlings and exaggerated subsequent responses to acute stress in adults (Pravosudov & Kitaysky 2006). Such effects are known to persist beyond the early life environment across several taxa (birds: Spencer & Verhulst 2007Spencer, Evans & Monaghan 2009;Marasco et al 2012;Schmidt et al 2012Schmidt et al , 2014Drummond & Ancona 2015mammals: Meaney et al 1991Liu et al 1997;Meerlo et al 1999;Pryce et al 2005;Vieau et al 2007;Navarrete et al 2007; amphibians: Hu, Crespi & Denver 2008). Nonetheless, to my knowledge, no studies have examined the direct effects of chronic early life stress on both HPA axis function and how these effects carry-over to influence subsequent components of fitness, such as survival and dispersal, in the wild.…”

Stress hos höns : Effekter av domesticaring och tidig stress på beteende och välfärd

“…In a group of Japanese Quail (Coturnix japonica), extensively bred for altered CORT response during restraint, quail with a high CORT response displayed fluctuating asymmetry in normally bilateral symmetric characteristics (Satterlee et al, 2000), and Japanese Quail with low plasma CORT response reaches puberty earlier than birds with high response (Satterlee et al, 2002). Some studies investigating stress have failed to demonstrate any later effects, for example, Marasco et al (2012) orally administered CORT to Japanese Quail between post-natal day 5 and 19. A subsequent restraint-stress protocol on day 22 and 64 did not show any effects.…”

“…Also behaviour can be affected: stressed hens produced offspring with altered TI-duration and reduced food-competition abilities . Further, CORT injection of Japanese quail eggs induced sexeffects; after a restraint-stress protocol on the offspring on post-hatch day 22 and 64, males responded stronger to the procedure (Marasco et al, 2012). Further, Yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis) eggs were injected with CORT where after the chicks displayed attenuated rates and loudness of late embryonic vocalizations and reduced begging display around hatch and T-cell mediated immunity was depressed (Rubolini et al, 2005).…”