Parental hypoxic exposure confers offspring hypoxia resistance in zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Parental influences are a potentially important component of transgenerational transfer of phenotype in vertebrates. This study examined how chronic hypoxic exposure on adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) affected the phenotype of their offspring. Separate adult populations were exposed to hypoxia (13.1 kPa O(2)) or normoxia (21.1 kPa O(2)) for periods ranging from 1 to 12 weeks. Adults were then returned to normoxia and bred within experimental groups. Adult fecundity and egg characteristics (volume of egg, yolk and perivitelline fluid) were assessed. Subsequently, larval body length, time to loss of equilibrium in severe hypoxia (~4 kPa O(2)), and critical thermal minima (CT(min)) and maxima (CT(max)) were measured at 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21 and 60 days post-fertilization (d.p.f.). Adult fecundity was depressed by hypoxic exposure. Egg component volumes were also depressed in adults exposed to 1-2 weeks of hypoxia, but returned to control levels following longer hypoxic exposure. Adult hypoxic exposures of >1 week resulted in longer body lengths in their larval offspring. Time to loss of equilibrium in severe hypoxia (i.e. hypoxic resistance) in control larvae decreased from 6 to 12 d.p.f., remaining constant thereafter. Notably, hypoxic resistance from 6 to 18 d.p.f. was ~15% lower in larvae whose parents were exposed to just 1 week of chronic hypoxia, but resistance was significantly increased by ~24-30% in 6-18 d.p.f. larvae from adults exposed to 2, 3 or 4 weeks of hypoxia. CT(min) (~10-12°C) and CT(max) (~39.5°C) were unchanged by parental hypoxic exposure. This study demonstrates that parental hypoxic exposure in adult zebrafish has profound epigenetic effects on the morphological and physiological phenotype of their offspring.