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Using Caenorhabditis elegans for Studying Trans- and Multi-Generational Effects of Toxicants
Published on: July 29, 2019
The effects of cadmium on the development of Drosophila and its transgenerational inheritance effects
Yun Mu1, Xiaoyu Hu1, Pingping Yang1
1College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710119, China.
Abstract:
A new focus in toxicology research is the impact of parental exposure to environmental toxic substances on the characteristics of offspring. In the present study, newly produced eggs of Drosophila melanogaster were treated with different concentrations of cadmium (0, 1, 2, 4, 8 mg/kg) to study the effects of development. The results showed that cadmium changed the larval body length and weight, prolonged the pupation and eclosion time, and changed the relative expression levels of development-related genes (baz, β-Tub60D, tj). Furthermore, the parental Drosophila (F0) were treated with cadmium (4.5 mg/kg) from egg stage, and when grows to adults, they mated in standard medium to produce the de-stressed offspring (F1-F4) to assess the transgenerational effects of developmental delay. The results showed that the delayed effects of the pupation and eclosion time could be maintained for two generations, and the inhibiting effects of juvenile hormone (JH) and ecdysone (20-hydroxyecdysone, 20E) could be maintained for two or three generations. More importantly, cadmium increased the expression of DNA methylation-related genes (dDnmt2, dMBD2/3) in the ovaries (F0-F2) and testicles (F0 and F1). In addition, cadmium accumulated in parental Drosophila (F0) was not transmitted to offspring through reproductive pathway. These results demonstrate that the developmental toxicity caused by cadmium could be transmitted to the de-stressed offspring, and the observed transgenerational inheritance effects may be associated with epigenetic regulation, underscoring the need to consider fitness of future generations in evaluating the toxicity and environmental risks of cadmium.
Insights
Parental exposure to cadmium in Drosophila melanogaster causes developmental delays in offspring for up to two generations. These transgenerational effects may involve epigenetic regulation, highlighting cadmium
Area of Science:
- Environmental Toxicology
- Developmental Biology
- Epigenetics
Background:
- Parental exposure to environmental toxins impacts offspring development.
- Cadmium is a toxic substance with potential developmental effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the transgenerational effects of cadmium exposure on Drosophila melanogaster development.
- To explore the role of epigenetic regulation in cadmium-induced developmental toxicity.
Main Methods:
- Drosophila melanogaster eggs were treated with varying cadmium concentrations.
- Parental flies (F0) exposed to cadmium produced subsequent generations (F1-F4) for transgenerational assessment.
- Gene expression (development-related, DNA methylation) and hormone levels (juvenile hormone, ecdysone) were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Cadmium exposure altered larval growth, pupation, and eclosion times.
- Developmental delays and altered hormone levels persisted for two to three generations in unstressed offspring.
- Cadmium exposure increased DNA methylation gene expression in parental reproductive tissues, but cadmium itself was not transmitted.
- Transgenerational inheritance of developmental toxicity was observed, potentially linked to epigenetic mechanisms.
Conclusions:
- Cadmium exposure induces transgenerational developmental toxicity in Drosophila melanogaster.
- Epigenetic regulation, specifically DNA methylation, may mediate these inherited effects.
- Evaluating cadmium's environmental risk requires considering its impact on future generations' fitness.
