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Ord J, Heath PR, Fazeli A, Watt PJ. Paternal effects in a wild-type zebrafish implicate a role of sperm-derived small RNAs. Mol Ecol 2020; 29:2722-2735. [PMID: 32525590 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15505] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2020] [Revised: 05/15/2020] [Accepted: 05/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
While the importance of maternal effects has long been appreciated, a growing body of evidence now points to the paternal environment having an important influence on offspring phenotype. Indeed, research on rodent models suggests that paternal stress leaves an imprint on the behaviour and physiology of offspring via nongenetic information carried in the spermatozoa; however, fish have been understudied with regard to these sperm-mediated effects. Here, we investigated whether the zebrafish was subjected to heritable influences of paternal stress by exposing males to stressors (conspecific-derived alarm cue, chasing and bright light) before mating and assessing the behavioural and endocrine responses of their offspring, including their behavioural response to conspecific-derived alarm cue. We found that after males are exposed to stress, their larval offspring show weakened responses to stressors. Small RNA sequencing subsequently revealed that the levels of several small noncoding RNAs, including microRNAs, PIWI-interacting RNAs and tRNA-derived small RNAs, were altered in the spermatozoa of stressed fathers, suggesting that stress-induced alterations to the spermatozoal RNA landscape may contribute to shaping offspring phenotype. The work demonstrates that paternal stress should not be overlooked as a source of phenotypic variation and that spermatozoal small RNAs may be important intergenerational messengers in fish.
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Affiliation(s)
- James Ord
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
- Academic Unit of Reproductive and Developmental Medicine, Department of Oncology and Metabolism, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
- Department of Pathophysiology, Institute of Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Paul R Heath
- Sheffield Institute of Translational Neuroscience, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Alireza Fazeli
- Academic Unit of Reproductive and Developmental Medicine, Department of Oncology and Metabolism, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
- Department of Pathophysiology, Institute of Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Penelope J Watt
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
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Otero-Ferrer F, Lättekivi F, Ord J, Reimann E, Kõks S, Izquierdo M, Holt WV, Fazeli A. Time-critical influences of gestational diet in a seahorse model of male pregnancy. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020; 223:jeb.210302. [PMID: 31862853 PMCID: PMC7033721 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.210302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2019] [Accepted: 12/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Sex role reversal is not uncommon in the animal kingdom but is taken to the extreme by the Syngnathidae, in which male pregnancy is one of the most astonishing idiosyncrasies. However, critical and time-dependent environmental effects on developing embryos, such as those extensively studied in mammalian pregnancy, have not been investigated in the male pregnancy context. Here, we tested the hypothesis that seahorse pregnancy is subject to ‘critical windows’ of environmental sensitivity by feeding male long-snouted seahorses (Hippocampus reidi) a diet deficient in polyunsaturated fatty acids during specific periods before and during pregnancy. Despite embryos being nourished principally by maternally supplied yolk, we found that offspring morphology, fatty acid composition and gene expression profiles were influenced by paternal diet in a manner that depended critically on the timing of manipulation. Specifically, reception of a diet deficient in polyunsaturated fatty acids in the days preceding pregnancy resulted in smaller newborn offspring, while the same diet administered towards the end of pregnancy resulted in substantial alterations to newborn gene expression and elongation of the snout at 10 days old. Although paternal diet did not affect 10 day survival, the observed morphological alterations in some cases could have important fitness consequences in the face of natural selective pressures such as predation and food availability. Our results demonstrate that, under male pregnancy, fine-scale temporal variation in parental diet quality and subsequent critical window effects should not be overlooked as determinants of developing offspring fitness. Summary: Food quality has a time-dependent impact on the offspring of male seahorses, revealing new insights into male pregnancy and its potential adaptive importance for syngnathid offspring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisco Otero-Ferrer
- Grupo en Biodiversidad y Conservación, Instituto Universitario en Acuicultura Sostenible y Ecosistemas Marinos (IU-ECOAQUA), Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Marine Scientific and Technological Park, Carretera de Taliarte s/n, E-35214 Telde, Spain
| | - Freddy Lättekivi
- Institute of Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, Department of Pathophysiology, University of Tartu, Ravila 14b, 50411 Tartu, Estonia
| | - James Ord
- Institute of Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, Department of Pathophysiology, University of Tartu, Ravila 14b, 50411 Tartu, Estonia
| | - Ene Reimann
- Institute of Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, Department of Pathophysiology, University of Tartu, Ravila 14b, 50411 Tartu, Estonia
| | - Sulev Kõks
- Perron Institute for Neurological and Translational Science, RR Block, QE II Medical Centre, 8 Verdun Street, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia
| | - Marisol Izquierdo
- Grupo de Investigación en Acuicultura, Instituto Universitario en Acuicultura Sostenible y Ecosistemas Marinos (IU-ECOAQUA), Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Marine Scientific and Technological Park, Carretera de Taliarte s/n, E-35214 Telde, Spain
| | - William Vincent Holt
- Academic Unit of Reproductive and Developmental Medicine, Department of Oncology and Metabolism, University of Sheffield, Level 4, Jessop Wing, Tree Root Walk, Sheffield S10 2SF, UK
| | - Alireza Fazeli
- Institute of Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, Department of Pathophysiology, University of Tartu, Ravila 14b, 50411 Tartu, Estonia .,Academic Unit of Reproductive and Developmental Medicine, Department of Oncology and Metabolism, University of Sheffield, Level 4, Jessop Wing, Tree Root Walk, Sheffield S10 2SF, UK
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