1
|
Lindner M, Laine VN, Verhagen I, Viitaniemi HM, Visser ME, van Oers K, Husby A. Rapid changes in DNA methylation associated with the initiation of reproduction in a small songbird. Mol Ecol 2021; 30:3645-3659. [PMID: 33453134 PMCID: PMC8359384 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2020] [Revised: 12/06/2020] [Accepted: 01/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Species with a circannual life cycle need to match the timing of their life history events to the environment to maximize fitness. However, our understanding of how circannual traits such as timing of reproduction are regulated on a molecular level remains limited. Recent studies have implicated that epigenetic mechanisms can be an important part in the processes that regulate circannual traits. Here, we explore the role of DNA methylation in mediating reproductive timing in a seasonally breeding bird species, the great tit (Parus major), using genome‐wide DNA methylation data from individual females that were blood sampled repeatedly throughout the breeding season. We demonstrate rapid and directional changes in DNA methylation within the promoter region of several genes, including a key transcription factor (NR5A1) known from earlier studies to be involved in the initiation of timing of reproduction. Interestingly, the observed changes in DNA methylation at NR5A1 identified here are in line with earlier gene expression studies of reproduction in chicken, indicating that the observed shifts in DNA methylation at this gene can have a regulatory role. Our findings provide an important step towards elucidating the genomic mechanism that mediates seasonal timing of a key life history traits and provide support for the idea that epigenetic mechanisms may play an important role in circannual traits. see also the Perspective by Melanie J. Heckwolf and Britta S. Meyer
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Melanie Lindner
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands.,Chronobiology Unit, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Veronika N Laine
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands.,Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Irene Verhagen
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Heidi M Viitaniemi
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme (OEB), University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Marcel E Visser
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands.,Chronobiology Unit, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Kees van Oers
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Arild Husby
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme (OEB), University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway.,Evolutionary Biology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|