Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Horm Behav. 2021 Aug;134:105023. doi: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2021.105023. Epub 2021 Jul 2.
The developmental environment can have powerful, canalizing effects that last throughout an animal's life and even across generations. Intergenerational effects of early-life conditions may affect offspring phenotype through changes in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA). However, such effects remain largely untested in altricial birds. Here, we tested the impact of maternal and paternal developmental conditions on offspring physiology and morphology in the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata). Specifically, we exposed one generation (F1) to elevated corticosterone (CORT) during development and quantified the impact on offspring (F2) phenotype. We predicted that intergenerational effects would be apparent through effects of parental developmental treatment on offspring body mass, growth, body condition, body composition, and CORT levels. We found an intergenerational impact on CORT levels, such that F2 birds reared by CORT-treated fathers had higher baseline CORT than F2 birds reared by control fathers. This result shows the potential for intergenerational effects on endocrine function, resulting from developmental conditions. We found no effect of parental treatment on F2 body mass, size, or body condition, but we found that the body mass and tarsus length for offspring and parent were correlated. Our study demonstrates the subtle effects of developmental conditions across generations and highlights the importance of distinguishing between maternal and paternal effects when studying intergenerational effects, especially for species with biparental care.
发育环境可以产生强大的、引导性的影响，这些影响会持续贯穿动物的一生，甚至跨越几代。早期生活条件的代际效应可能会通过下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺轴（HPA）的变化影响后代的表型。然而，这种效应在晚成性鸟类中仍未得到充分验证。在这里，我们测试了母体和父体发育条件对斑马雀（Taeniopygia guttata）后代生理和形态的影响。具体来说，我们在发育过程中使一代（F1）暴露于升高的皮质酮（CORT）下，并量化了对后代（F2）表型的影响。我们预测，通过父母发育处理对后代体重、生长、身体状况、身体成分和 CORT 水平的影响，可以观察到代际效应。我们发现 CORT 水平存在代际影响，即由 CORT 处理的父亲抚养的 F2 鸟类的基础 CORT 水平高于由对照父亲抚养的 F2 鸟类。这一结果表明，发育条件对内分泌功能可能具有代际影响。我们没有发现父母处理对 F2 体重、大小或身体状况的影响，但我们发现后代和父母的体重和跗跖长度相关。我们的研究证明了发育条件在代际间的微妙影响，并强调了在研究代际效应时区分母性和父性效应的重要性，特别是对于具有双亲照顾的物种。
