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Valli FE, Simoncini MS, González MA, Piña CI. How do maternal androgens and estrogens affect sex determination in reptiles with temperature-dependent sex? Dev Growth Differ 2023; 65:565-576. [PMID: 37603030 DOI: 10.1111/dgd.12887] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2023] [Revised: 08/04/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023]
Abstract
Temperature sex determination (TSD) in reptiles has been studied to elucidate the mechanisms by which temperature is transformed into a biological signal that determines the sex of the embryo. Temperature is thought to trigger signals that alter gene expression and hormone metabolism, which will determine the development of female or male gonads. In this review, we focus on collecting and discussing important and recent information on the role of maternal steroid hormones in sex determination in oviparous reptiles such as crocodiles, turtles, and lizards that possess TSD. In particular, we focus on maternal androgens and estrogens deposited in the egg yolk and their metabolites that could also influence the sex of offspring. Finally, we suggest guidelines for future research to help clarify the link between maternal steroid hormones and offspring sex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florencia E Valli
- CICYTTP-CONICET/Prov. Entre Ríos/UADER, Diamante, Argentina
- Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Cátedra de Bromatología y Nutrición, Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Santa Fe, Argentina
| | - Melina S Simoncini
- CICYTTP-CONICET/Prov. Entre Ríos/UADER, Diamante, Argentina
- Facultad de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad Autónoma de Entre Ríos, Diamante, Argentina
| | - Marcela A González
- Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Cátedra de Bromatología y Nutrición, Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Santa Fe, Argentina
| | - Carlos I Piña
- CICYTTP-CONICET/Prov. Entre Ríos/UADER, Diamante, Argentina
- Facultad de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad Autónoma de Entre Ríos, Diamante, Argentina
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Enos JK, Ducay R, Paitz RT, Ward MP, Hauber ME. Female red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) do not alter nest site selection, maternal programming, or hormone-mediated maternal effects in response to perceived nest predation or brood parasitism risk. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2023:114322. [PMID: 37247827 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2023.114322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2023] [Revised: 05/16/2023] [Accepted: 05/26/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Predation or brood parasitism risks can change the behaviors and reproductive decisions in many parental animals. For oviparous species, mothers can mitigate their reproductive success in at least three ways: (1) by avoiding nest sites with high predation or parasitism risks, (2) through hormonal maternal effects that developmentally prime offspring for survival in risky environments, or (3) by investing less in reproduction when predation or parasitism risks are high. Here, we tested if perceived predation and parasitism risks can induce any of these behavioral or physiological responses by exposing female red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) to playbacks of two major nest threats, a predator (Cooper's hawk, Accipiter cooperii) and an obligate brood parasite (brown-headed cowbird; Molothrus ater), as well as two controls (harmless Eastern meadowlark, Sturnella magna; and silence). We found that female blackbirds did not avoid nesting at sites treated with predator or brood parasite playbacks, nor were females more likely to abandon nesting attempts at these sites. Egg size and yolk hormone profiles, which are common proxies for maternal investment in oviparous species, were statistically similar across treatment sites. Instead, we found intraclutch variation in yolk steroid hormone profiles: concentrations of three progestogens (pregnanedione, 17α-hydroxypregnenolone, and deoxycorticosterone) and two androgens (testosterone and androstenedione) were higher in third-laid than first-laid eggs. Our study largely confirms previous findings of consistent intraclutch yolk hormone variation in this species, in birds in general, and in other oviparous lineages, but uniquely reports on several yolk steroid hormones largely overlooked in the literature on hormone-mediated maternal effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janice K Enos
- Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois 61820, USA.
| | - Rebecca Ducay
- Southern Illinois University, School of Forestry, Carbondale, Illinois 62901, USA
| | - Ryan T Paitz
- School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois 61790, USA
| | - Michael P Ward
- Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois 61820, USA; Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
| | - Mark E Hauber
- Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois 61820, USA; Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
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Podmokła E, Drobniak SM, Rutkowska J. Chicken or egg? Outcomes of experimental manipulations of maternally transmitted hormones depend on administration method - a meta-analysis. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2018; 93:1499-1517. [PMID: 29573376 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2017] [Revised: 01/28/2018] [Accepted: 02/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Steroid hormones are important mediators of prenatal maternal effects in animals. Despite a growing number of studies involving experimental manipulation of these hormones, little is known about the impact of methodological differences among experiments on the final results expressed as offspring traits. Using a meta-analytical approach and a representative sample of experimental studies performed on birds, we tested the effect of two types of direct hormonal manipulations: manipulation of females (either by implantation of hormone pellets or injection of hormonal solutions) and manipulation of eggs by injection. In both types of manipulation we looked at the effects of two groups of hormones: corticosterone and androgens in the form of testosterone and androstenedione. We found that the average effect on offspring traits differed between the manipulation types, with a well-supported positive effect of egg manipulation and lack of a significant effect of maternal manipulation. The observed average positive effect for egg manipulation was driven mainly by androgen manipulations, while corticosterone manipulations exerted no overall effect, regardless of manipulation type. Detailed analyses revealed effects of varying size and direction depending on the specific offspring traits; e.g., egg manipulation positively affected physiology and behaviour (androgens), and negatively affected future reproduction (corticosterone). Effect size was negatively related to the dose of androgen injected into the eggs, but unrelated to timing of manipulation, offspring developmental stage at the time of measuring their traits, solvent type, the site of egg injection and maternal hormone delivery method. Despite the generally acknowledged importance of maternal hormones for offspring development in birds, the overall effect of their experimental elevation is rather weak, significantly heterogeneous and dependent on the hormone and type of manipulation. We conclude by providing general recommendations as to how hormonal manipulations should be performed in order to standardize their impact and the results achieved. We also emphasize the need for research on free-living birds with a focus on fitness-related and other long-term effects of maternal hormones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edyta Podmokła
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 7, 30-387, Kraków, Poland
| | - Szymon M Drobniak
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 7, 30-387, Kraków, Poland
| | - Joanna Rutkowska
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 7, 30-387, Kraków, Poland
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Bertin A, Meurisse M, Arnould C, Leterrier C, Constantin P, Cornilleau F, Vaudin P, Burlot T, Delaveau J, Rat C, Calandreau L. Yolk hormones influence in ovo chemosensory learning, growth, and feeding behavior in domestic chicks. Dev Psychobiol 2015; 58:185-97. [PMID: 26419601 DOI: 10.1002/dev.21364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2015] [Accepted: 09/11/2015] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
In this study, we assessed whether prenatal exposure to elevated yolk steroid hormones can influence in ovo chemosensory learning and the behavior of domestic chicks. We simulated a maternal environmental challenge by experimentally enhancing yolk progesterone, testosterone, and estradiol concentrations in hen eggs prior to incubation. The embryos from these hormones-treated eggs (HO) as well as sham embryos (O) that had received the vehicle-only were exposed to the odor of fish oil (menhaden) between embryonic Days 11 and 20. An additional group of control embryos (C) was not exposed to the odor. All chicks were tested following hatching for their feeding preferences between foods that were or were not odorized with the menhaden odor. In the 3-min choice tests, the behavior of O chicks differed significantly according to the type of food whereas C and HO chicks showed no preference between odorized and non-odorized food. Our result suggests weaker response in HO chicks. In addition, HO chicks showed impaired growth and reduced intake of an unfamiliar food on the 24-h time scale compared to controls. Our data suggest that embryonic exposure to increased yolk hormone levels can alter growth, chemosensory learning, and the development of feeding behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aline Bertin
- Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), UMR85, Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, Nouzilly, France. .,Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), UMR7247, Nouzilly, France. .,Université François Rabelais de Tours, Tours, France. .,Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation (IFCE), 37380 Nouzilly, France.
| | - Maryse Meurisse
- Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), UMR85, Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, Nouzilly, France.,Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), UMR7247, Nouzilly, France.,Université François Rabelais de Tours, Tours, France.,Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation (IFCE), 37380 Nouzilly, France
| | - Cécile Arnould
- Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), UMR85, Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, Nouzilly, France.,Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), UMR7247, Nouzilly, France.,Université François Rabelais de Tours, Tours, France.,Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation (IFCE), 37380 Nouzilly, France
| | - Christine Leterrier
- Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), UMR85, Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, Nouzilly, France.,Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), UMR7247, Nouzilly, France.,Université François Rabelais de Tours, Tours, France.,Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation (IFCE), 37380 Nouzilly, France
| | - Paul Constantin
- Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), UMR85, Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, Nouzilly, France.,Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), UMR7247, Nouzilly, France.,Université François Rabelais de Tours, Tours, France.,Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation (IFCE), 37380 Nouzilly, France
| | - Fabien Cornilleau
- Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), UMR85, Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, Nouzilly, France.,Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), UMR7247, Nouzilly, France.,Université François Rabelais de Tours, Tours, France.,Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation (IFCE), 37380 Nouzilly, France
| | - Pascal Vaudin
- Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), UMR85, Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, Nouzilly, France.,Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), UMR7247, Nouzilly, France.,Université François Rabelais de Tours, Tours, France.,Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation (IFCE), 37380 Nouzilly, France
| | | | | | | | - Ludovic Calandreau
- Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), UMR85, Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, Nouzilly, France.,Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), UMR7247, Nouzilly, France.,Université François Rabelais de Tours, Tours, France.,Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation (IFCE), 37380 Nouzilly, France
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