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Protocol for Assessing the Relative Effects of Environment and Genetics on Antler and Body Growth for a Long-lived Cervid
Published on: August 8, 2017
Stress hormones mediate environment-genotype interactions during amphibian development
1Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, The University of Michigan, 3065C Kraus Building, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1048, USA. rdenver@umich.edu
General and Comparative Endocrinology
|April 28, 2009
Summary
Early life environmental stress impacts amphibian development via stress hormones, influencing metamorphosis timing and size. These effects can lead to lasting changes in physiology and behavior, affecting long-term fitness.
Area of Science:
- Developmental biology
- Endocrinology
- Ecology
Background:
- Early life environments profoundly influence organismal development, survival, and later-life phenotypes.
- Amphibian larvae exhibit remarkable developmental plasticity in response to environmental cues.
- The neuroendocrine stress axis plays a critical role in mediating environmental impacts on development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of stress hormones in mediating environmental influences on amphibian metamorphosis.
- To understand how environmental stress affects the timing and size at metamorphosis.
- To explore the long-term consequences of early-life stress hormone exposure on physiology and behavior.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of hormonal pathways controlling amphibian metamorphosis, including corticotropin-releasing factor, thyroid hormone, and corticosteroids.
- Assessment of environmental stress impacts on larval development, metamorphosis timing, and size.
- Examination of gene expression changes in the neuroendocrine stress axis following early-life stress.
Main Results:
- Environmental stress activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and thyroid axis, promoting metamorphosis.
- Corticosteroids and thyroid hormone synergize to drive metamorphic changes.
- While stress hormones can aid survival in adverse conditions, they may reduce growth and size at metamorphosis.
- Early exposure to elevated corticosteroids can induce permanent alterations in the neuroendocrine stress axis, affecting adult phenotype.
Conclusions:
- Environmental stress centrally regulates amphibian metamorphosis through the neuroendocrine stress and thyroid axes.
- Early-life stress hormone exposure has trade-offs, potentially enhancing immediate survival at the cost of reduced growth and long-term fitness consequences.
- Persistent epigenetic modifications due to early stress can lead to altered adult physiology and behavior, highlighting the critical importance of early developmental conditions.
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