The role of energetic reserves during embryonic development of an annual killifish

Vrtílek, Milan; Polačik, Matěj; Reichard, Martin

doi:10.1002/dvdy.24528

Cited by 8 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…The position of eggs was randomized across different populations. This particular incubation mode was chosen as it is closer to natural conditions where the embryos are buried in the substratum (Polačik et al, ) while incubation of killifish eggs on top of the substratum makes them develop relatively faster and more synchronously (Genade, ; Polačik et al, ; Vrtílek et al, ). Use of a substratum from a common source prepared prior to the study ensured a standard level of moisture and peat quality in all Petri dishes.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Local variation in embryo development rate in annual fish

Polačik

Reichard

Vrtílek

2018

Journal of Fish Biology

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Extreme asynchrony in embryo development, a typical feature of annual killifish living in temporary pools, represents a bet-hedging strategy to cope with unpredictable rainfall. African annual killifish are distributed across a large precipitation gradient, raising the potential for local adaptation in the degree of developmental asynchrony (e.g. higher in arid areas, lower in humid areas). Eight populations of two sister species, Nothobranchius furzeri and Nothobranchius kadleci, from sites along the rainfall gradient were tested and compared for asynchrony and duration of embryo development. Degree of asynchrony and mean duration of embryo development did not differ across the examined range. Despite generally high developmental variability, fish from more arid regions (where rain is more erratic) produced a significantly higher proportion of short-developing embryos. Comparable developmental asynchrony, regardless of precipitation level, suggests that all populations tested need to cope with some level of rainfall stochasticity. By producing more short-developing embryos, however, fish in more arid areas with relatively more erratic rains are better adapted to very short pool durations and are more likely to produce multiple offspring generations within a single rainy season.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Local variation in embryo development rate in annual fish

Polačik

Reichard

Vrtílek

2018

Journal of Fish Biology

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“…Male and female fish can be housed in the same tank and breed continuously, which minimizes the burden of maintenance. While the fecundity declines with age, one breeding pair generally produces tens to hundreds of embryos per week throughout their lives (Polacik et al., 2016; Vrtilek, Polacik & Reichard, 2017). However, it is also important to note that the hatching process of embryos is not automatic and is induced by specific environmental cues.…”

Section: Establishing the African Turquoise Killifish As A Research Omentioning

confidence: 99%

The African turquoise killifish: A research organism to study vertebrate aging and diapause

Brunet²

2018

Aging Cell

135

118

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SummaryThe African turquoise killifish has recently gained significant traction as a new research organism in the aging field. Our understanding of aging has strongly benefited from canonical research organisms—yeast, C. elegans, Drosophila, zebrafish, and mice. Many characteristics that are essential to understand aging—for example, the adaptive immune system or the hypothalamo‐pituitary axis—are only present in vertebrates (zebrafish and mice). However, zebrafish and mice live more than 3 years and their relatively long lifespans are not compatible with high‐throughput studies. Therefore, the turquoise killifish, a vertebrate with a naturally compressed lifespan of only 4–6 months, fills an essential gap to understand aging. With a recently developed genomic and genetic toolkit, the turquoise killifish not only provides practical advantages for lifespan and longitudinal experiments, but also allows more systematic characterizations of the interplay between genetics and environment during vertebrate aging. Interestingly, the turquoise killifish can also enter a long‐term dormant state during development called diapause. Killifish embryos in diapause already have some organs and tissues, and they can last in this state for years, exhibiting exceptional resistance to stress and to damages due to the passage of time. Understanding the diapause state could give new insights into strategies to prevent the damage caused by aging and to better preserve organs, tissues, and cells. Thus, the African turquoise killifish brings two interesting aspects to the aging field—a compressed lifespan and a long‐term resistant diapause state, both of which should spark new discoveries in the field.

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“…During oogenesis, this structure serves fundamentally to regulate the transit of substances between the oocytes and the follicular cells. These substances include vitellogenin, the precursor of yolk (Wallace & Selman, 1981), which constitutes the main but limited nutrient supply for the development and diapause of embryos (Hahn & Denlinger, 2011;Vrtílek, Polačik, & Reichard, 2017). This exchange of material takes place via a set of channeled pores through which microvilli from the oocyte and the follicular cells are projected (Dumont & Brummet, 1980).…”

Section: Origin and Nature Of Protective Embryonic Structures In Mmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reproductive biology of annual killifishes and its relationship with embryonic survival during diapause: Millerichthys robustus (Cyprinodontiformes: Cynolebiidae) as an integrative model

2018

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Summary Diapause is a metabolic arrest expressed by annual killifish embryos as an extreme adaptation to persist in environments that show alternate periods of favourable‐hostile conditions along the annual cycle. Survival under deteriorated condition can be considered as the final consequence of a previous set of complementary morphophysiological and behavioral processes in adult fishes. Millerichthys robustus is the only annual fish that has developed an annual life history in North America wherewith allow us to consider it as an emerging model for annual killifishes to review, analyze and integrate the knowledge about its reproductive biology involved in allowing the embryos in diapause to survive face the hostile environmental condition. First, we review developmental ecology of Millerichthys embryos throughout different periods (flood, drought and humid) of the annual life cycle showing the possible developmental trajectories in situ. We then analyze: (i) the way in which embryos achieve survive drought from protective cortical structures (perivitelline space and egg envelope) that present dynamic changes according to the conditions to which they are exposed buffering the harmful effects of high temperatures and water loss. (ii) The nature and origin of these protective structures during the ovogenesis (cortical alveoli and zona pellucida give rise to the perivitelline space and egg envelope respectively and oil droplets represent an emergency nutritional reserve). (iii) Sexual synchronization through secretion of pheromones and the reproductive behavior that allows them to spawn under the substrate. Embryonic survival is achieved by success of simplest interactions between reproductive biology elements prior to embryo development.

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The role of energetic reserves during embryonic development of an annual killifish

Cited by 8 publications

References 57 publications

Local variation in embryo development rate in annual fish

Local variation in embryo development rate in annual fish

The African turquoise killifish: A research organism to study vertebrate aging and diapause

Reproductive biology of annual killifishes and its relationship with embryonic survival during diapause: Millerichthys robustus (Cyprinodontiformes: Cynolebiidae) as an integrative model

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