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A transgenerational endocrine signaling pathway in Crustacea
Gerald A LeBlanc1, Ying H Wang, Charisse N Holmes
1Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America. Gerald_leblanc@ncsu.edu
Plos One
|April 25, 2013
Summary
Environmental chemicals can alter offspring sex ratios and reduce brood size across generations in crustaceans. A newly identified hormone receptor pathway explains these transgenerational effects.
Area of Science:
- Endocrinology
- Developmental Biology
- Environmental Toxicology
Background:
- Environmental signals influence progeny development, notably in crustaceans with environmental sex determination.
- Methyl farnesoate hormone was previously shown to promote male phenotype development in early crustacean embryos.
Purpose of the Study:
- Identify a transcription factor activated by methyl farnesoate.
- Investigate the transgenerational signaling pathway's extent and significance.
- Evaluate the role of juvenoid compounds in sex determination and population metrics.
Main Methods:
- Cloned and evaluated candidate transcription factors in Daphnia pulex for methyl farnesoate activation.
- Assessed the ability of juvenoid compounds to activate the methyl farnesoate receptor (MfR) in vitro and in vivo.
- Exposed Daphnia to pyriproxyfen across multiple generations, monitoring survival, growth, sex ratio, and fecundity.
Main Results:
- A complex of bHLH-PAS proteins (dappuMet and SRC) activated a reporter gene in response to methyl farnesoate.
- Compound potency to activate MfR correlated with male sex determination stimulation (pyriproxyfen > methyl farnesoate > methoprene, kinoprene).
- Pyriproxyfen exposure skewed sex ratios toward males and reduced offspring per brood in subsequent generations, with reduced fecundity persisting one generation after exposure cessation.
Conclusions:
- Identified key components of a crustacean hormone/receptor signaling pathway regulating transgenerational population metrics.
- Proposed a model for how this pathway impacts population sustainability under normal and chemically perturbed conditions.
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